By Kenneth Jukpor
Miss Victoria Iwuoha is the General Manager at Gold Stable Limited, a thriving company specialized in logistics and transport as well as training and research based firm in the sector. In this interview with MMS Plus newspaper, she speaks on a wide range of industry issues, highlights the objectives of Gold Stable and makes a case for young Nigerian to take a career in logistics and transportation. Enjoy it:
When did Gold Stable Limited start operations and what’s your role at the company?
The company has been in existence since 2016 in Port-Harcourt. I’m the General Manager and our services supply, procurement, logistics, but at the moment our core area is the aspect of training. The training is classified as transport training or supply chain training because we do courses in partnership with Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA) and also safety courses with the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH).
If you go through the CIOTA training we do, you’ll find that we have some aviation management courses also. We don’t just limit ourselves to maritime courses. That’s why we describe ourselves as supply chain management academy. We cover all aspects of transport, logistics, procurement, etc and we’re also into general contracting and supply.
As the general manager for the company, I supervise the activities in Port-Harcourt and Bonny Island. One challenge about Bonny Island is that there’s no road network to access the Island except via the waterway. So, we have asked ourselves how these residents could benefit from the transport and supply chain industry and we have resolved to be of service to them. We also plan to go global with this company.
Beyond training, does the company engage in advocacy and campaign to let people know the challenges in the sector and how to surmount them?
We’re not an advocacy company. We offer consultancy services and we are also trying to organize our first transport or supply chain event which will come up around February, 2022. Although the pandemic is making people go for online events, we plan to have people physically present because it’s going to be global with facilitators and professors from all over the world especially from United Kingdom (UK). We’re also using Nigerians to share their ideas that are peculiar to the local scenario. In a nutshell, we’re going to use the conference as an avenue for advocacy to address the numerous challenges in the sector.
Does Gold Stable have directors or experts to function as resource persons since you’re into consultancy services?
Aside our board of directors and the services we rendered listed on our page online, we have top professors like Prof. Akpolome and other top personalities that advise us and also serve as consultants.. We have a lot of professors well-grounded in the transport sector that help us with our services and play advisory roles to guide the company.
Do you also have operators among your staff?
One major target audience for consulting is people who are operating in the industry. We have staffs that can operate and also work in the academics line. The idea is that we merge them to offer the best services.
Our motto is ‘efficiency brings trust’. One thing about efficiency is how best you can make a service work in the shortest possible time in an effective manner. So, we believe that we want to provide top-notch professional services by having staff that are academicians and also operate in the industry.
What Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) do you engage in?
The focus of our CSR is on young professionals; one problem in the transport industry is that a lot of young people don’t know about transport. Talking about advocacy, how best can we use our conferences as advocacy to preach the gospel of transportation because in Nigeria we need more indigenous experts to handle the transport and supply chain industry? How do we get more young Nigerians interested in this business of logistics and transport?
Nigeria’s transport industry is lagging behind and at Gold Stable, we want to advocate for youth’s in the transport sector. We’re really open and ready for their cooperation because we know that this is necessary to move the industry forward.
Nigeria has a lot of challenges in the transport and supply chain sector, which core area is your company most concerned about?
We’re not an NGO. Gold Stable is strictly into business and our focus is on training. The company is a service-oriented one and we have a vision to create a first-class integrated service structure to offer business solutions within our region.
Although we plan to go global our primary target, for now, is this region and that’s why went into consultancy, training and supply. How best can we offer services that can make the businesses of our clients grow? We also have a monthly business reviews that we call the GSL business review. You can check our social media handles for more information about these services.
We have dedicated team members that work round the clock to make sure our customers get the best services. Information and cost-effectiveness are very important when we’re looking at how best a business can grow without putting so much monetary obligations on our clients. So, we want to also get feedback from people because it’s not all about giving, what also want to know the best way to make our services better.
What benefits should your potential clients expect when they patronize Gold Stable?
We’re committed to providing a stress-free business experience. Part of it is our online training; we are committed to taking away that stress from our clients. That’s why we’re also into general contracting to handle our clients’ businesses from beginning to end.
What word of advice do you have for young people to embrace opportunities in the transport and supply chain sector?
It is sad that the notion of doing a great course in Nigeria is when you do medicine or practice law. A lot of people don’t know much about transportation and how important it is so that has affected the transport industry. My word of advice to young professionals like me is that transport is as important as any other profession. If you freeze transport sector in any country, you have crippled the economy.
Transportation is so crucial and vast; there is a place for anyone who picks interest. It is also a rewarding and pleasurable practice.
