The establishment in 2005 of the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), a Federal Government’s organisation charged with the responsibility of coordinating the government’s-owned Technology Incubation Centres (TICs), has helped to create new entrepreneurs. One of the TICs in Minna, Niger State, is giving entrepreneurs the tools and space to help turn their ideas into viable businesses. DANIEL ESSIET reports.
One of the success stories from the Technology Incubation Centre(TIC), Minna, Niger State, is Mary John, a producer of groundnut chips (kuliKuli).
A computer graduate of Niger State Polytechnic, Mary, is a success story. She was ruminating over a business idea when she realised she could do something with food processing.
She wanted to prove groundnut chips can be produced deliciously, healthily and tastfully at the same time.
She knew nothing about food manufacturing, so she set out to get grips with everything from food labelling, marketing and sales. She started the business a year ago with N20,000. Today, the business is worth N500,000. It all began out of her passion and drive to explore entrepreneurship. She spent time learning how to process peanuts to perfection and the peanut business in general.
She heard about the Technology Incubation Centre(TIC) Minna, Niger State entrepreneurial support. She was taken in along with several young entrepreneurs with technology and entrepreneurship support, mentorship and space, to grow their innovative ideas into viable businesses.
One factor that has brought her success is her commitment to offer, not just good quality products but the best that there is. She has strong adherence to cleanliness. She believes that when starting a business, success does not lie on the capital, but on hard work and patience.
Mary Paul has become a small success story of the Niger State’s start-up ecosystem. She is a brainchild of the National Technology Incubation Centre, Minna,Niger State now abuzz with young, creative minds.
Co founder, Zealous production Company, Obetta Martins Chukwudi, is a dynamic young entrepreneur. A chemical engineering graduate, his entry into paint production has fetched him money. He looks forward to transiting from a small business to a big industry player.
Dissatisfied with mediocre finish of modern paints, he began research into cheap paint production formula. Interestingly, the business has become self sustaining, producing different paint formula. Already, he is training corpers in Niger State on entrepreneurship.
According to him, paint production business has been extremely rewarding as there are no barriers to entry. His philosophy is if one is ambitious and willing to learn the business and works hard, there are no limits to what one can accomplish.
By way of expansion, Chukwudi and Co partner, Zealous production Company, Stanley Okwuchukwu has developed unique cosmetic formulas, tested on who knows how important a healthy, attractive appearance is and how the professional products work.
He plans and his partner creates safe, high performance and quality cosmetics.
Similarlly, Taiwo Shokunbi, an accounting graduate, is producing cassava flour from the centre. He packages cassava flour in packets and sell them in the market.
His capital, came from his savings.
Initially, there was the challenge of limited capital, which has hindered him from expansion and hiring more sales persons to market the flour.
According to him, cassava can also be an excellent industrial money-making crop for farmers and for the economy. Through cassava value addition, one can get glue, cassava chips, starch and flour.
Shokunbi said he wanted to become a full-fledged entrepreneur who creates jobs for others. The idea was from the agri-business point of view, because he saw that there was a lot of opportunity in cassava processing as a business and the best approach was to look at products that could have value added to make the farmers make more money. He has found a market in people selling fufu at market or along roadsides.
The Centre Manager, Zakeriah Tukura, said a lot of start-ups have come out of the hub. The building, according to him, provides infrastructure support in the form of space, power and internet connectivity.
Tukura said the centre is ready to support entrepreneurs to turn their business ideas into viable businesses.
According to him, the centre was established in support of the government’s goal to increase employment opportunities through public private partnerships
He explained that nurturing young entrepreneurs is particularly important given Nigeria’s high youth unemployment rate. The Centre Manager, Technology Incubation Centre, said new businesses are given free accommodation at the Centre for three years. During this period, he said the businesses are exempted from taxation.
At the centre, equipped with fabrication and testing facilities, he said, young tech entrepreneurs can be mentored. He said the centre is committed to the continuous training of entrepreneurs.
These centres, he said, have produced small scale entrepreneurs who may emerge as a new class of businessmen.
At the centres, access to experts across all engineering and management disciplines is easy.
According to him, it is fundamental to identify opportunities and the added value small enterprises can bring, by integrating their own skills and developing training programmes to improve enterprise performance, enhance profitability and growth, and offering technology and management support to small businesses and early movers to maximise the value of their ideas.
Businesses in the incubator fall within some stages – conception, where a first-cut assessment of the strategic environment is made, to development, where feasibility and go-to-market strategies are explored and, ultimately, commercialisation, where profitable market opportunities are exploited and the focus is on growing the venture.
According to him, TICs , has become the key policy driver for turning unemployed youths into entrepreneurs and business owners.
He urged entrepreneurs to take advantage of the incubation centres provided them to work out a better future for themselves.
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