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Women enjoined to improve digital skills for sustainable business

By Ngozi Egenuka
23 November 2019   |   4:11 am
Women have been tasked on the need to improve their digital skills in order to boost business growth. Hence they’ve been encouraged to search out affordable, easy and professional ways to achieve...

A cross-section of participants at the Women Entrepreneurship Day (WED) conference in Lagos

Women have been tasked on the need to improve their digital skills in order to boost business growth. Hence they’ve been encouraged to search out affordable, easy and professional ways to achieve sustainability in business using the Internet.

This was the focus of the Women Enterpreneurship Day (WED), which recently held in Lagos with the theme: “From Start to Scale.” The conference had panelists and participants discuss on growing businesses through the assistance of Internet.

The panelists included Senior Vice President, Africa Capital Alliance, Yemisi Akinbo; GM West Africa, Branch International, Maria Rotilu; WED Ambassador For Nigeria, Echika Obijiaku; Founder, Online Publishers and Entrepreneur Network, Edirin Edewor and CEO, Right Cycling NG, Bolaji John, among others.

Obijiaku spoke on the need for women to run suitable businesses through digitalisation and access to funding.

She noted that the event offered empowerment and support to women in business by helping them become active participants in the country’s economy.

On access to funding, women were advised to understand the level of their business, the suitable funding and value proposition.

“We also noticed that a lot of people want funding but are not adequately prepared for it, so they are taught on being prepared, and rightly positioned to possess funding to build businesses that would outlive them,” says Obijiaku.

Obijiaku, who is also the Founder of Mwanga Limited, noted that mindset and cultural restrictions are major limitations to becoming female entrepreneurs.

The Director, Teleo Messengers Limited, Olubukola Adewakun, spoke on how entrepreneurs can leverage on digital opportunities to scale their business.

“For start-ups the opportunities are enormous but the individual has to be committed to learning about the specific field and move the business from ideation to implementation, leverage on free trainings and opportunities online. Search for the current and future opportunities of the business and compare it across borders,” she said.

Adewakun added that such opportunities allow a business to use minimal capital and achieve large business visibility as one can own a business without a physical store and sell across the world.

According to her, a lot of women don’t like their personality attached to their businesses on social media, but she encouraged such synergy to help build trust for a brand.

Also, the General Manager, West Africa, Branch International, Maria Rotilu, explained that in building a sustainable business that would exist in the absence of an individual, structures and processes should be put in place.

She advised women to be strategic in adding value, and make efforts to be different.

“You need to know what problem you are solving and value added. Identify your stakeholders and have a passionate balanced conversation with yourself to ensure the passion can produce profit,” she said.

According to Rotilu, the introduction of digitalisation has availed a stronger competition as every business is fighting for each other’s attention on the Internet.

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