AUN Conducts Free Training for Adamawa Business Community 

The American University of Nigeria School of Business & Entrepreneurship, in partnership with the Adamawa Chamber of Commerce, Mines, and Agriculture, has kicked off its planned free training workshops for Adamawa State business executives.

The program is a part of the University’s efforts to help the state’s business community, while providing AUN’s business students with hands-on, out-of-classroom experience. The free workshops, like the free business clinics it earlier conducted with small business owners in the state, are geared towards improving the quality of businesses in the state.

The first workshop, which took place at the Conference Hall of the Office of the Deputy Governor, was attended by Deputy Governor Martins Babale of Adamawa State, who read the keynote address.

“The objective is to form a collaborative relationship with the business community, and that’s what the AUN Business School tries to do,” said Dr. Chris Mbah, the AUN Chair of Business Administration & International Business. “We’ve done this through the Business Clinic sessions, and we are now also doing this through the executive training.”

President Margee Ensign, who was represented by AUN’s Chief Information Officer, Mr. Julius Ayuk-Tabe, noted that programs like these are what make AUN stand out among other universities. “We are not just a university, but a development university, and no decision fits that name better than when we do things like this,” she said. “Our hope at AUN is that this is the beginning of many trainings like this. We are hoping that this will give you an appetizer.”

During the first of the two-part workshop, Professor Linus Osuagwu, spoke on “Marketing in a Challenging Environment;” Dr. Tamara Myatt gave an inspirational lecture on “Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Management;” Samuel Akanno, “Financial Management for SMEs,” and Dr. Ferdinand Che, “ICT and Business Performance.” Dr. Mbah spoke on “Managing Stress and Work-Life Balance,” before the feedback, motivational and closing remarks session ended the day.

Interim Dean of SBE, Dr. Vrajlal Sapovadia, said “As a development university, AUN is always looking at how to help its community,” Dr. Sapovadia said. “So, we decided to organise some sort of training for the entrepreneurs in Adamawa state. And it’s free to all participants.”

At the end of the workshop, the participants praised the quality of information they had received. “We’ve gained a lot, because whenever you come in contact with academia, you share ideas, discuss problems, and at the end of the day, everyone is better off,” said Ahmed Jarma, Managing Director of Adama Beverages and one of the participants.