Despite the Japa syndrome plaguing Nigeria as many able-bodied and well-educated youths have left Nigeria for greener pastures elsewhere, some youths still believe in Nigeria’s success story and they are optimistic that the future hold lots of goodies and some sort of betterment for Nigerians.
One of such youths is Nwoke Emmanuel, an economist, a farmer, a baker and CBN-certified entrepreneur, who developed an app called Tradabook, designed to keep business records and customers’ database for effective running and management of businesses.
Although it wasn’t all easy for an Imo State-born entrepreneur to invent Tradabook to help solve myriad of challenges being faced by business owners in Nigeria as he said that “My parents were not educated and my father was the only son of his family.”
As a result, I had no exposure to anything else apart from petty trading and farm work”, Nwoke’s determination and his exposure to technology prompted the design of Tradabook meant to improve and digitise day-today management and running of businesses in Nigeria.
He said, “Having been in bakery business for five years and due to the crude nature of a lot of equipment and processes, it is very strenuous and many times, managing my customers became a problem, keeping a relationship with them became difficult.
“I started thinking of an application that could help me and other traders to manage their customer base because I wanted to reach out beyond my immediate environment. Not only managing customers, but building a loyal customer base for honest businesses in the sense that bakery business is a very profitable business.
Read also: 40% of funded startups are under five years old — Report
“So, I developed an app called Tradabook to manage customers’ database and if you can start it, it will definitely pay off. In terms of expansion, I noticed that having a lot of loyal customers would help me expand my business and it is only through tech that this innovation can be carried out.
“Some businesses lack a proper database for their customers. We have had cases of young graduates would have joined their fathers’ businesses but they could not because they had no access to the database of their fathers’ customers. Tradabook will help any business to maintain and nurture their relationship with their customers. With this, you can even handover your business to your children when you retire.”
Recounting his experience as somebody who learnt trading and agricultural practice from his parents back then in the South-East, Nigeria and how he combined schooling with business and agricultural practice, which caused him good grade, having Second Class Lower Division for his BSc in Economics as well as his NYSC year in Gombe State, Nwoke advised Nigerian youths to remain focused and enterprising no matter the situation they may find themselves, saying there is always a dignity in labour.
“I know that business is not easy but from my early childhood experience, my siblings and I never went hungry for one day. Through agriculture and trading, we had more than enough to eat. In fact, we sold a lot of our farm outputs to market.
“While at the University, I collected money from my parents just once and that was the day I was leaving the house to go to the University. Back then, I used to go to Onitsha during the weekends to buy used shoes and clothing that I could resell during my free lecture days.
“Actually, it was not my choice but I was not a full-time student because I combined studying and business. I was supposed to graduate with a 2.1 but the distractions caused me to get a 2.2. Nevertheless, I did not feel too bad because I knew I gained a lot of experience running my own business.
“A year before my graduation, I co-authored a book called “Nigeria’s School System: Gaps and Realities (The Missing Link)”. During my NYSC deployment, I was posted to Gombe State. Gombe was not comfortable for me because of the harsh weather but I resolved to succeed against all odds. After the orientation, I was deployed to teach Economics in a Secondary School.
After teaching each day, I would go around the Gombe metropolis to scout for business. During that time, I started working towards the foodstuff business, i.e agroproduce business. I did not have the money to embark on it fully but nonetheless, I built a network and contacts with the dealers in the area, so I could utilise the network when I returned to the East after the Youth Service.”
Speaking further on what he did differently to earn him the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN-certification and being technological savvy, he explained that “a friend told me at the time that the CBN was organising a training and that they would provide funding after the training was over. I was excited so I bought the form for N5,000.
“After four months of classroom lectures by resource persons in the area of entrepreneurship, we were sent out for a month’s internship in our area of interest. During that time, I worked in a bakery. We were four attached, and out of all four, I was the only one who ended up starting the bakery business.
“One of the problems I faced was associated with the supply of raw materials due to the issues relating to middlemen. For example, someone promised to supply equipment but disappointed. It caused a lot of problems for me back then. So, I decided to sell some equipment at the time but it was difficult. When I mentioned it to a friend, he shared the products on a platform and I got it sold very quickly. That was when I first had an idea of the importance of technology.”
Highlighting major problems that affect businesses and business owners in the Country, Nwoke said, “If you are a business owner in this Country and built from scratch, you would have faced challenges. As a bakery owner, I manage power generation, transportation, human resources, marketing and distribution.
“To survive in this Country, many challenges will weigh you down if you lack the technical know-how. The issue of finances is major, and people have also lost interest in promises because they hardly deliver. Sourcing for capable hands to help is also another challenge. When you join the market, you have to compete with other established companies and it is not easy.
In trying to find your niche, you often have to try to connect with the market segment the big players are not focused on. As you build your capital, you can approach the major markets gradually. For example, I built my bakery in an abandoned portion of the market and I was there alone for five years but now, the same place has become the envy of all.”
