Bolaji Balogun shares strategies for starting, scaling a business

Bolaji Balogun, CEO of Chapel Hill Denham, has shared strategic guidance for entrepreneurs aiming to build sustainable businesses in Nigeria and Africa.

He presented the growth strategies at a recent Worldwide Alumni Celebration of the London Business School (LBS), Nigeria chapter in Lagos, themed ‘Africa’s Builders: What it takes to start, grow and scale.’

He noted that Africa’s demographic advantage lies in its rapidly growing young population, which he says can boost economic growth by creating wealth through entrepreneurship.

Balogun shared the insights based on his 35 years of inspiring entrepreneurial journey and working with other successful entrepreneurs who built from scratch to big conglomerates on the continent.

In starting a business, he advised start-ups to have a big vision, clarity about the unique problems they intend to solve, discipline, financial prudence, and lots of experience.”

“You must have a big vision and be clear about the problems you are solving when starting a business,” he said.

“The other thing that you’ll find common is that you need tremendous discipline around consistency in execution. It’s about financial prudence, operational rigour, and you will also need a lot of courage when you start,” he explained.

He emphasized that starting a business requires experience, urging start-ups to have working experience before launching into entrepreneurship.

“Experience is important as it helps you learn the business and the fundamentals properly. It helps you understand the structure, margins, customers and markets and how brands are built,” he said.

In growing a business, Balogun says that growing a business in Africa requires the ability to identify, hire, and retain high-quality people over a long period.

He noted that aggression is needed to grow any business, saying, “When you look at the entrepreneurs that have succeeded around here, they all have a mean streak around them, whether it’s Aliko, or Aigboje and the late Herbert of Access Bank, or Tony of UBA. Every single person who has built something here invariably has a bit of aggression.”

“If you don’t have a bit of aggression, go home. Aggression is necessary for three simple reasons. It’s about the ability to make decisions quickly.”

“It’s about the ability to process a lot of information and be clear-minded through that process and to be able to make the right decisions quickly.”

He stressed that having aggression ensures not making a mistake because it provides the ability to pivot when necessary and the swiftness to react to opportunities that are available all the time.

He urged startups to establish structures that promote accountability, transparency, ethics, and governance discipline.

In scaling a business, Balogun says the business must have had a significant community impact and now be focused on a broader stakeholder community.

He urged entrepreneurs who want to scale their businesses to ensure that their corporate governance is stronger, they understand the power of the capital market, they understand sustainability, increase employee training, reinvest in the business, think long-term, and continue the quest for excellence.

The event also included a panel discussion on what it takes to build a regional and continental business in Africa and practical advice on how to grow and scale businesses successfully was offered.

The panelists include: Adedotun Sulaiman, chairman, Parthian Partners Ltd; Roosevelt Ogbonna, group managing director, Access Bank; Kathleen O’Connor, clinical professor, LBS and Olumide Soyombo, co-founder, Bluechip Technologies and Voltron Capital. It was moderated by Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani, CEO, EnergyInc Advisors.