The United States of America Consulate General and the Field of Skills and Dreams Academy have partnered to train and mentor about 102 budding Nigerian entrepreneurs.
At the Conference for Emerging Entrepreneurs in Lagos on Tuesday, the Consul General, John Bray, said that the young business people would be equipped with skills to grow and expand their businesses.
According to him, it is an opportunity for the entrepreneurs to change their society by proffering solutions to economic challenges through resilience.
The Chief Executive Officer, FSD, Mrs. OmowaleOgunrinde, said the programme aimed to encourage participants to execute their business vision and achieve success in their endeavours.
Speaking at the conference, the Chairman and CEO, Channels Television, Mr. John Momoh; Founder, MainOne Cable; FunkeOpeke; and the Co-founder and Director, Sahara Group, Tonye Cole, encouraged Nigerian entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses.
They urged the young entrepreneurs to make a change in the country through their businesses.
While telling the story of how he started the TV station, Momoh said he realised that his dreams of owning a broadcast media organisation was a risk worth taking.
He advised the youth not to give up on their dreams of becoming business owners irrespective of their location or situation, saying that they should not compromise their integrity.
“You must have passion and vision; be ready to take risks, be decisive, think big, have a positive mind-set and seek out opportunities around you. Work hard and be innovative. Do not focus your mind on money. When you focus on satisfying your customers, the money will come,” Momoh added.
Opeke noted that even though there were constraints in the business environment due to inadequate security and infrastructure, entrepreneurs should break down the barriers.
“I encourage people that despite the challenging environment, they can be focused and deploy their capacity into what they want to do,” she said.
Cole charged the entrepreneurs to be innovative and change the status quo, because they were ambassadors in the country and beyond.
“You have to be innovative and create things that people don’t understand. You can dream big but start small and focus on understanding the business. If we can succeed regardless of lack of access to training, you can also succeed,” he stated.
