Enugu Set To Export Pineapple To Europe

The Enugu State Government would commence the commercial shipment of pineapple to Europe this year, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chuks Ugwoke, said on Monday.

Ugwoke, who said this while addressing journalists after the State Executive Council meeting, explained that the commodity would be harvested from the 150-hectare Enugu-San Carlos Pineapple Farm.

The meeting was chaired by Governor Sullivan Chime at the Government House, Enugu.

In addition to the production of pineapple, the commissioner said the council also approved the introduction of banana and livestock, particularly cattle, in the farm, which is jointly owned by the state government and San Carlos, a United States-based farming conglomerate.

The council also approved N880.8m as the state’s equity counterpart contribution for new investments in the farm.

Ugwoke said the council approved another N1.1bn for the completion of construction work on two major inter-local government rural roads in parts of the state.

He added that about N48.8m was approved for the implementation of the health commodity supply component of the 2013 Millennium Development Goals Local Government Track for six local government areas of Awgu, Enugu East, Igbo-Eze South, Nkanu West, Nsukka and Udi.

It is expected that hospital equipment, drugs and other materials needed in health care facilities in the state will be provided with the sum.

Ugwoke similarly said the council directed that a draft bill for a law to upgrade the State College of Agriculture and Agro-Entrepreneurship in Iwollo Oghe to the Enugu State Polytechnic should be forwarded to the state House of Assembly for consideration and possible passage.

According to the commissioner, the bill, if passed into law, and the school, will help to reduce the hardship being faced by many candidates seeking admission into higher institutions in the state and also facilitate the steady and direct in-flow of material and financial resources to the institution from outside the state.

STARTUP: Secrets To Running A Barbing Saloon

Starting a barbing saloon is easy, so says Chime, who owns one around Ologuneru area of Ibadan, Oyo State. His is one of the major barbing saloons in the area. It is decent and well ventilated. But the business can be capital intensive, depending what kind of saloon you’re looking to set up, he says.

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A modest barbing saloon could gulp N170,ooo he says, while a bigger saloon can sink as much as N300,000. He itemises equipment needed for the business as: Two four-by-eight-feet (front and back) mirror - N20,000; a shelf - N50,000; two to three barbing chairs at N50,000 each; original clippers at N12,000 each; clipper treatment – N3,000, 2.7KVA - N35,000; a box of steriliser - N20,000; towel-warmer – N20,000, air conditioner - N75,000; hair/wash hand basin - N10,000; aprons, waste bins, combs, hair cream, shampoo, etc – N20,000.
But all these are just standards, he says. Running a barbing saloon requires much more than setting up a great place, although that is also important. “Your shop has to have the element of human factor. Your shop has to speak to your customers, same as you attitude,” Chime says.
According to him, you have got to have a great relationship with your clients/customers. There is something known as word of mouth advertising. If your clients are happy with your services, they will always come back, not only that, they will also bring a friend and the friend will always bring another friend.
You have to know how to follow the trend. There are new styles and cuts out there, you have got to learn how to stay on top of your game, Chris, who own a barber’s shop in Lagos says. As far as your shop goes, you must have a sound system, a cable TV and your colours must be soothing. “Imagine someone coming in from the hot sun. You want him relaxed before his having his haircut,” Chris adds.

Going a step forward
At-home-services are also a step you give your business an edge, Chris says. You could also set up your shop to sell such things as barbing equipment, accessories and hair care treatments. For instance, you could sell clippers, aftershaves, shaving powder, shaving sticks, etc.

Expertise
Do you need to learn the trade before setting up shop? Chris shrugs and says, “not necessarily.” But if you do know how to give a haircut, that’s definitely an edge, he admits. “What is essential is that you have great stylists with awesome attitude and you’re ready for business.”

Meet She Leads Africa’s Top 10 Finalists

She Leads Africa has announced their top 10 finalists for the 2014 Entrepreneur Showcase.
The lucky 10 were selected from 380 applications from more than 27 countries. The top 10, according to the organisers, represent the best young female entrepreneurs across the continent.
They will present their businesses to panel of esteemed business leaders, investors from leading venture capital firms, and the media on September 20th in Lagos and compete for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.
Afrocentric Bamboo Limited, Kumasi, Ghana
Afrocentric Bamboo Limited designs, develops, and markets bamboo bikes and frames and related products and services.
Banke Kuku Textiles, London, United Kingdom
Banke Kuku Textiles designs African inspired luxury fabrics and accessories for the fashion, interiors and soft furnishings markets.
Fashpa Lagos, Nigeria
Fashpa.com is an online retailing platform, dedicated to providing African consumers with access to fashion and lifestyle brands. In an interview, Ogundeyi said the company got started out of “our frustration with the limited access to fashion in Nigeria. Nigerians have the same modern sophisticated fashion tastes and love for fashion when compared to consumers elsewhere in the world. The only difference between us is that it is difficult for us to access our favourite fashion brands.
“For example, even in Nigeria, it can be hard due to traffic or location to get access to a Nigerian designer’s shop. We saw this as a clear opportunity to leverage on technology and create a leading fashion online platform, giving consumers access to the best fashion and lifestyle brands whether international or local, the latest trends and at good prices with the added value of providing convenience by delivering this goods to them. The response has been amazing and in a short amount of time, we have taken a leadership position as number one fashion online retailer in Nigeria.”
Lizzie’s Creations, Abuja, Nigeria
Lizzie’s Creations develops mobile and web applications uniquely aimed at the development and education of women and children in Africa.
Loue 1 Voiture, Casablanca, Morocco
Loue 1 Voiture is the first online platform that enables you to reserve a car from big and small car hire companies in Morocco.
Mamelette, Lagos, Nigeria
Mamalette is a website and information portal dedicated to the needs of Nigerian parents and parents to be.

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MKP Fast Foods, Johannesburg, South Africa
MKP Fast Foods creates youth employment in SA by operating a low cost, scalable mobile kitchen for a growing chicken brand, Galito’s.
Night Bus, Johannesburg, South Africa
Night Bus is a safe, cool way of getting around town at night. We enrich the party experience by bringing people closer to brands they love.
Rare Customs, New York, USA
Rare Customs connects SME’s to emerging African tourism and investment trends.
Thandos, Lagos, Nigeria
Thandos provides a platform that empowers aspiring African artists to design women’s fashion footwear that is comfortable, convenient and affordable.

How Three Students Created Nigeria's Online Jobs Giant

Three students had time on their hands in the summer of 2009 when their university lecturers in Nigeria went on strike.

Instead of slacking off, Ayodeji Adewunmi, Olalekan Olude and Opeyemi Awoyemi started an online job search company.
Five years later their start-up, Jobberman, has got a multi-million dollar valuation, employs 125 people, and is still growing.
While Nigeria is Africa's largest economy it still has massive unemployment problems, in particular among young people who are also more likely to be connected to the internet.
Jobberman has become the single largest job placement website in sub-Saharan Africa, helping over 35,000 people find jobs within the last two years.
The number of companies using the site to find employees has grown from about 40 in 2009 to some 35,000 today.

The company employs 125 people in Nigeria and beyond

Carrying between 500 and 1,000 jobs on the site every day, the founders estimate that there are about 1,000 active users searching for a job at any given time.
"The growth has been tremendous, it's at rocket speed. One of the biggest challenges has been to keep up with the volume of work," says Olalekan.
Overcoming fraud fears However, there have been other challenges along the way.
"In the beginning a lot of people did not trust an internet-based business because at that time a lot of people were using the internet to perpetuate fraud here in Nigeria," he says.
But as other online businesses thrived and became trusted, so Jobberman thrived. Companies would dip their toe in the water with one or two postings and then when they trusted the site they would come back.

Olalekan Olude says he is proud because each job someone finds on his site helps support a household

In 2012 some of Jobberman's clients wanted to use the site to find workers in Ghana and so the company took its first work outside Nigeria.
Two years later it says it is now the biggest online job site in Ghana as well as Nigeria.
The company is now expanding its reach to Kenya with a partner called Brighter Monday. The partnership also gives it a footprint in Uganda and Tanzania.

'They found me'

 

Amarachi Apakama found a job through the site without filling out an application

Some people find a job through the site without actually applying for one.
Amarachi Apakama uploaded her details and was approached by a company to take the position of executive assistant at a mobile phone content company.
"That really changed my life," she says. "It was a morale booster. It helped my confidence - the fact that my interests and my experience put together such a good fit that I didn't have to apply for the job."
Multiplier effect "It is incredibly fulfilling helping people to become economically empowered by getting job placements via Jobberman," founder Ayodeji Adewunmi says.

The BBC's business teams across Africa meet the continent's entrepreneurs who are starting up new enterprises and seeking to create big opportunities.

"One company recruited more than 80% of their employees through the site. Another time, a director was able to hire a former colleague in the United States to come and work for his company here in Lagos. All amazing stories."

Olalekan Olude adds: "If you put food on the table by virtue of getting a job for someone, that person also fends for a mother, or a brother and you create a multiplier effect within that household.
"And anytime we get to hear of such stories, we are very, very happy. It motivates us, it makes us look forward into the future and try and get more people to get more jobs."

SMEDAN Committed to 5 Million Jobs Creation-D-G

The Director-General of Small and Medium  Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) Alhaji Bature Umar Masari, has reiterated the readiness of the agency to generate 5 million jobs between 2013 and 2015. Masari, said that the job creation mileage would be achieved through the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) initiated by Minister of Industry and Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga. The Director-General said that  NEDEP was being implemented under three pillars, technical/vocational skills acquisition, and business development services (BDS) Entrepreneur training and access to finance. Masari gave the assurance while speaking at the occasion of the flag-off of the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) on Dec. 17 in Bauchi State.

Smedan Signs MOU with NUC & KASU

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, (SMEDAN) the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Kaduna State University (KASU) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) targeted at inculcating the spirit of entrepreneurship in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.nThe MOU signing ceremony which took place in the Auditorium of the National Universities Commission will see SMEDAN creating a standardized schedule of activities for entrepreneurship clubs in all universities, initiating University Entrepreneurship Development Program (UNEDEP) business plan competition for Network for African Student Entrepreneurs (NASE) club members across the country and providing linkages for NASE members with industry through business matchmaking fora.

SMEDAN Sign MOU with Bayelsa Government

The Director General Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) Alhaji Bature Umar Masari has disclosed that it would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government  of  Bayelsa State that would be operational in a couple of weeks   after a few grey areas have been harmonised.Alhaji  Masari, dropped this hint during the flag –off of the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on 15th  November 2013 said the MOU would centre on the implementation of the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) and the One Local Government One Product, (OLOP) programme in the state.

DG SMEDAN Urges Universities to set up Entrepreneurship Clubs

The Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, (SMEDAN), Alhaji Bature Umar Masari, has urged students in Nigerian universities to endeavour to set up entrepreneurship clubs in their respective university so as to imbibe the spirit of entrepreneurship while they are still in the school environment. Alhaji Bature stated this when he  hosted  students from the  Economics Department of the Adamawa State University, Mubi, Adamawa State, who were on an excursion visit to the Agency’s head office in Abuja.

SMEDAN UNDP trains 30 Women on Business Development Skills in Minna

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria SMEDAN in collaboration with the United Nation Development Programme UNDP has trained 30 women drawn from five cooperative societies across three states on business development skills.The Director General of SMEDAN, Alhaji Bature Umar Masari, stressed the need for women to be trained on business skills so that they can be independent and self sustaining.