AdminFinancial experts, entrepreneurs and business leaders have highlighted critical strategies for building successful businesses.
Speaking at the United Bank for Africa’s (UBA) Business Series, the last edition for this year, top industry leaders and entrepreneurs stressed that building a successful business requires a blend of innovation, unwavering focus, and passion.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe event which held on Thursday, 21 November at the Tony Elumelu Amphitheatre, UBA House, Marina, Lagos, was on the theme: “Profit with Purpose, Business Continuity.”
Some of the entrepreneurs and business leaders who attended the event include founder, Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters, Chief Executive of Asadtek Group Limited, Ghana; Dr. James Asare-Adjei; Award winning TV Personality & Multi Media Entrepreneur, Frank Edoho, multimedia personality, Toke Makinwa and founder of Nigeria’s pioneering indigenous premium coffee brand, Happy Coffee, Princess Adeyinka Tekena.
They shared insights on their business journey and how businesses can stand the test of time and thrive in a competitive environment.
Bolanle Austen-Peters, a lawyer and award-winning film director, and producer, was the keynote speaker at the event and she 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 she has run 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.
She underscored the need for having a proper business structure for sustainability.
James Asare-Adjei from Ghana, who also stated that being innovative and having integrity, are key essentials for business sustainability, advised 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,” Asare-Adjei stated.
On his part, Frank Edoho, noted that 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,” Edoho stated.
“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 and 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.
