Caption: From left: Head, SME Banking, United Bank for Africa, (Plc) Babatunde Ajayi; Directorate Head, Resources, UBA, Tomiwa Sotiloye; Founder, Happy Coffee, Princess Adeyinka Tekena; TV Personality & Multi Media Entrepreneur, Frank Edoho; Group Head Corporate Communications, Alero Ladipo, UBA; Multimedia personality, Toke Makinwa and Group Head Retail Products and Sales, Prince Ayewoh during the UBA Micro Small Medium Enterprise (MSME) Business Series, tagged ’Profit with Purpose, Business Continuity’, held at UBA house Marina on Thursday.
Stakeholders and experts in the Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises space in the country, on Thursday in Lagos said a blend of innovation, unwavering focus, and passion is necessary for building businesses that stand the test of time.
They shared actionable insights and strategies for ensuring business resilience and sustainability in today’s dynamic economic environment at the United Bank for Africa Business Series on the theme: “Profit with Purpose, Business Continuity.”
A statement by the bank said Bolanle Austen-Peters who is also a Prominent Lawyer, Award Winning Film Director, and Producer, was the keynote speaker at the event and spoke on the need for small and medium scale businesses to define their purpose, build a workable framework and have a team that shares in your vision.
On how the secret of running a business successfully for over 20 years, she said, “I can never overemphasise the role that purpose plays in your business. There is the need for business owners to set clear goals and achievable targets. From Day one, I started with having an organisational structure like what we have in banks, complete with legal structure, a board of Directors, administrative Officers, and all.”
The truth, she continued, “is that if you do not have a framework for your business, you may just be another business from the street. Putting together a structure shows that you are in for serious business, and people will treat your business as such.”
James Asare-Adjei from Ghana, also added key essentials like being innovative and having integrity, hinting that that MSMEs need to identify areas that they can excel at and work towards building it. “As business owners, you need to take advantage of the market available to you, and ensure that you add value at every point.
For Frank Edoho, passion remains an essential ingredient that drives business growth. “Passion is very important, as business owners, you should stick to your guns and learn from what others are doing and add it to your experience to make your business better,” he explained.
“One of the things I did to grow my brand was that I was very focused,” said Toke Makinwa, who recalled her humble beginnings as a banker and later a broadcaster.
“I kept the right attitude and surrounded myself with people who are team builders. These are winning strategies anytime,” she noted.
Princess Adeyinka Tekena, who is a beneficiary of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Grant, said the $5,000 grant she won in 2015, helped to build her business from ground up, grateful that the business has been thriving for over 10 years now.
She pointed out that tenacity, determination and financial discipline have been some of the factors that have contributed to the growth of her small business.
UBA’s Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Alero Ladipo, who commended the participants for sharing valuable insights explained that with these regular capacity building programs, UBA focuses on empowering other business owners to build sustainable businesses.
“At UBA, it is not just about Banking, we are also passionate about helping our customers to grow thriving businesses, and that is why we do this on a regular basis,” she noted.
The UBA Business Series is a regular seminar/workshop organised by the bank as one of its capacity-building initiatives, where leading business leaders and professionals share well-researched insights on relevant topics and best practices for running successful businesses, especially in difficult business challenges.
