The Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Charles Odii, the Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, other regulators, experts, stakeholders from the financial services and ICT sectors, small business owners among others have confirmed their attendance at the SUPERNEWS Nigeria SMEs Forum 2024 scheduled for Thursday, June 13th 2024 at Radisson Hotel, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.

The conference with the theme, ‘Bringing SMEs into the Financial Services Network via Fintech’ would be declared open by the SMEDAN DG, Mr. Charles Odii, while the EVC/CEO of NCC will chair the event.

A renowned economist and financial expert, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, the MD/CEO, Biodun Adedipe & Associate Limited will deliver the keynote speech at the conference, which would dig into issues faced by SMEs in running their day-to-day businesses in Nigeria.

The conference will also feature a panel session which would be handled by erudite scholars, including the Chairman, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Yeye Modupe Dada; Managing Director/CEO, Sunu Assurances Plc, Mr. Sam Ogbodu, Managing Director/CEO of APT Securities and Funds Limited, Mr. Kasimu Garba Kurfi and Head, Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co., Mr. Ayokunle Olubunmi.

The Special Guests of Honour for the conference include the Director General of SMEDAN, Mr. Charles Odii; Acting Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr.  Emomotimi Agama and the Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin.

The Publisher of SUPERNEWS Nigeria, Ngozi Onyeakusi in a statement in Lagos said the choice of the theme of the Conference was borne out of the quest to improve the business climate for SMEs in Nigeria by leveraging on technology in terms of accessing financial services.

She said it’s unfortunate that SMEs that form the bedrock of every economy are plagued by a lot of challenges, especially inadequate access to finance. Indeed, reports have shown that the challenge of SMEs in accessing funds could be traced to inadequate access to financial institutions and education, skills, experience of owners/managers, high interest rates, gender discrimination, among others.

It therefore becomes imperative to leverage on technology to ensure their sustainability, productivity and profitability.

The conference, she said, will, among others, examine the key challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria and provide practical solutions to help overcome them.

It will equally explore the benefits of fintech for small businesses, including how it can help them overcome financial challenges and drive growth through technology-driven solutions.

She equally emphasised that the confab is a learning opportunity designed to enhance awareness, deepen understanding of the participants on how SMEs can grow and sustain their businesses by embracing various financial services options including banking, capital market, pension and insurance.

By Lanre Alabi

A new book is always a thing of joy, not only to the author but also to knowledge seekers and avid book readers who believe in continuous self-improvement.

Being his sixth book, Ademola has over the years carved an enviable niche for himself as an author of repute specialising in management texts that focus on how to support career professionals and business managers in their bid to perform better and deliver enhanced results.

Value Creation: Your Pathway to Enduring Business and Career Success is, therefore, a continuation of Ademola’s efforts to share knowledge with those who desire to be relevant, successful, and impactful in their careers and businesses. The 220-page, six-chapter book with an illuminating cover is well laid out on a cream paper with an appealing, eye-friendly font that makes reading a pleasure.

The simple, breezy style the author employs makes the book easy to comprehend, and you can actually read the entire book in three days if you are a voracious reader. However, this is not a book you should read in a hurry.

It is a book you should read several times while also making copious notes of strategic insights you should apply to your personal or corporate brands.

TARGET AUDIENCE 

The book is targeted at career professionals and entrepreneurs who are deliberate about building valuable brands by producing value-adding products and services that will meet the identified needs of consumers and exceed their expectations.

THEME 

The central theme that runs through the book is the over-aching relevance of value creation and value addition in building and managing personal and business brands.

The author dwells extensively on the need for individuals and organisations in the private and public sectors to build strong brands that thrive on value creation. He also harped on the need for strong corporate reputations for businesses to become valuable and impactful.

Dwelling on his professional experience spanning over three decades, the author writes from the point of view of a hands-on manager who has seen a lot and done a lot in the areas of corporate communication, branding and reputation management.

FOCUS

The book focuses on how a value re-orientation revolution could be achieved in the private and public sectors. He identifies the patent lack of appreciation of the need for value creation and addition in Nigeria while enumerating strategic steps that should be taken by career individuals, entrepreneurs, corporate bodies, and public sector organisations to become value-driven, impactful, and valuable to their stakeholders.

CONCLUSION

CEOS, career managers, entrepreneurs, and government officials will find this book an inseparable companion. The book is a strategic roadmap for organisations that are value-driven and vision-propelled. It is a must-have for CEOs who are focused on building strong corporate brands that can deliver value to stakeholders while achieving sustainable and trans-generational profitability.

The author needs to consider writing a sequel to this book with the objective of a further deep dive into some salient sub-themes which he mentioned in this edition. Value creation is a wide field and the author will do well to consider a further exploration of the subject in subsequent editions.

On the whole, Value Creation: Your Pathway to Enduring Business and Career Success is a “damn good” book, to borrow that popular American slang. It is an unputdownable book that I strongly recommend to you. It is a book that will add value to your career and business if you endeavor to internalise the various action points recommended by the author, and also immediately put them to good use.

Alabi is the CEO of Prospers Strategy, Lagos.

On behalf of my family and friends, I, Dr. Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga, Sarkin Fulani Gombe, heartily congratulate my Life Chairman and our Father, Dr. Umaru Mutallab CON, on the official commissioning of the Funtua Inland Dry Port.

The take-off of the inland port which will facilitate and revitalise economic activity across the North West in particular and Nigeria in general is another testimonial to your pioneering efforts across various sectors of the Nigerian economy, which insha Allah, shall reap great returns.

Congratulations, once again sir.

Allah ya mana Jagora.

Alh (Dr.) Umaru Kwairanga

Sarkin Fulanin Gombe

GMD/GCEO FINMAL

Chairman NGX Group.

L-R: Mr Olapado Akinloye, Host/Executive Director, FasTrack Academy presenting a plaque to Otunba Odeyeyiwa Kazeem, GMD/CEO, Repton Group and Keynote Speaker, with a participant (middle) watching, during the 2024 FasTrack Academy Lagos Career Fair in Lagos recently.

Otunba Odeyeyiwa Kazeem Olayemi, GMD/CEO of Repton Group has said that achieving career advancement requires passion, focus, diligence, acquisition of special skills, positioning and resilience.

Otunba Odeyeyiwa made the disclosure at the recent Lagos Career Fair 2024 where he was the Keynote Speaker.

The Repton Group CEO said these career success basics especially become imperative because job-seekers are now faced with stiffer competition from millions of other job-seekers in today’s expanded job market, following the digital technology explosion that has made the world a global village by dismantling geographical boundaries, globalising competition and widening the scope of career opportunities.

He added that apart from job-seekers, workers too are in constant local and global competition in the workplace with a lot of prospective employees, ambitious subordinates, determined peers and even toxic or insecure bosses, all seeking the brass ring of career success.

In Otunba Odeyeyiwa’s words, “You need to sharpen your employability skills, strategically position yourself and be resilient to be able to stay ahead of competition and achieve accelerated career advancement.”

The CEO of Repton Group, a conglomerate that clinched 2023 National Largest Distributor of Dangote Cement Award explained that employability skills refer to a set of skills, especially personal attributes that make individuals more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen careers. According to him, “They are the skills that employers value more in prospective and existing employees as specialist or technical skills associated with different roles are less important for business success.”

Otunba Odeyeyiwa explained that some of these skills are effective communication skills, interpersonal skills, personal development/learning, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, problem-solving/analytical skills, and creativity and innovation. He said others are planning and organisation, self-management, ethical awareness, leadership skills, CV and cover letter writing skills, and job interview skills.

According to the CEO, “As a job-seeker or worker, you need to build your personal brand and then position yourself as a good brand for recognition and advancement opportunities and growth.” Advising job-seekers on self-positioning, he said job-seekers should be creative in their job-search efforts by concentrating more on unsolicited job application strategy where they will often be the only candidates being interviewed rather than the solicited application approach of merely responding to vacancy adverts that thousands or millions of other job-seekers are also applying for.

Otunba Odeyeyiwa added that strategic self-positioning for career success can be achieved through self-marketing, building personal reputation, requesting additional work in the workplace, having a mentor, maintaining cordial relationships with your boss, strong online presence, etc.

Emphasising the importance of resilience to career success, Odeyeyiwa said: “Development of employability and technical skills as well as employment of strategic positioning may still not quickly guarantee career success in some instances as expected. This may lead to the boundary of your patience being overstretched. One potent tool you need to survive such a situation is resilience, the mentality of a winner.”