US Supports Entrepreneurship Because it Promotes Economic Opportunity, Says Consul General Bray

ENTREPRENEUR

The United States Consul General F. John Bray told a group of aspiring entrepreneurs that the American government supports entrepreneurship all over the world because it is firmly convinced that entrepreneurship is the key driver to job growth, economic opportunity, political stability, and a vibrant civil society. Bennett Oghifo reports

United States Consul General F. John Bray did not mince words when he informed some budding entrepreneurs at a conference in Lagos, during the week, that they must do a lot of work to succeed.
The conference, “Emerging Entrepreneurs – Skills and Networks”, for 102 budding Nigerian entrepreneurs, was organised by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos in collaboration with the Field of Skills and Dreams (FSD), a leading vocational, technical, and entrepreneurship training institute.
Held under the auspices of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), the Conference was designed to equip the emerging entrepreneurs with the requisite skills and entrepreneurial know-how to enhance their success in the business world.

Some leading business and public sector leaders were there to inspire, mentor, and train the participating young entrepreneurs. These highly successful entrepreneurs, who told their personal stories and advice included John Momoh, the Chief Executive Officer of Channels Television; Sahara Group Co-Founder, Tonye Cole; and MainOne Cable CEO, Funke Opeke. Also present was Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, who told the aspiring entrepreneurs how Lagos government could assist them, for free.
Consul General Bray, however, gave the young entrepreneurs hope when he said, “Entrepreneurship can launch you on a path to change the world. Entrepreneurship can give you freedom to change the lives of you and your family. I can’t think of any better reason to start your business.”

The US government, he said supports entrepreneurship through “the Global Entrepreneurship Summit,” which the founder of FSD, Ms. Omowale Ogunrinde attended. “We also have the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme, the Global Innovation through Science and Technology and the list goes on.
“We want to identify, train, mentor, incubate, provide access to marketing and funding, and create enabling environments and entrepreneurship cultures. I believe that if we do this, you will be able to create a successful business.”
He gave them to-do-list, “You will have to decide what problem your company will solve; you will have to launch your business; the last thought I want to share with you- don’t take no for an answer. Believe in your idea and lose your fear of being told ‘no’ because you’re going to hear ‘no’ a lot.
“Find a few people who believe in you and your idea, keep them close – you need them when you have heard your hundredth “no”. Don’t be shy about asking people for information or connections. The entrepreneurial world is built on people helping one another.”
He reminded the young aspiring entrepreneurs of Mark Zuckerberg, the Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, who visited President Muhammadu Buhari without the usual protocols. The president requested that he come back to see him after Zuckerberg had left to Kenya.

He wished that all the developing entrepreneurs would leave with the set of skills and networks that would enable them launch their dreams.
He thanked the resource persons “for taking time out of their busy day to join us.”
Earlier, Darcy Zotter, P A O, Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos said, “Entrepreneurs are driven by many factors like a desire for financial gain, or the independence to increase the social impact of your venture.
“We also know that entrepreneurs don’t need loads of money to get started, it helps, but they do have to have skills and a vision, and we are looking to you because we know that you have skills and a vision.”
She warned that “entrepreneurs do not always succeed; better get used to hearing the word No and when you hear the word No, you say no I don’t think so.”
She also told them that “entrepreneurs almost never succeed at the first try but they do learn from their mistakes and keep on trying.
“We hope that when you leave here you will have a whole new network of support of friends and mentors.”

The CEO of Channels Television, John Momoh told the story of how started his station with a small transmitter that did not broadcast beyond the compound. But then, he had started and did not look back since then, though things were pretty rough and tough.
Momoh said he started with a production facility in 1993, stating that “it was one of the most challenging times ever.” It was in the same year that he successfully applied for a free-to-air news television license “with limited resources but resolute to succeed.”
He said he got a small loan from retail bank and from a few friends and a committed core staff of 15 people, they began test transmission two years later. “We had switched on an electronic transmitter, the size of a brief case. Its rating was a hundred watts.
Regardless, Channels Television was live on air, and he was satisfied and excited. “Some people were not as excited; some derided me, ridiculed and mocked the whole idea, while many others thought I was crazy, but I couldn’t blame them.”

His resolve was marched by the commitment of his wife and today, Channels Television has come to stay, regardless of the fact that for the first year there was no income.
He advised the budding entrepreneurs to have a passion for what they want to do; clear vision of what they want to do; ready to take risks; be decisive; think big; positive mindset; surround yourselves with energisers and not drainers or sappers.
He charged them to also “seek out opportunities; keep learning all through the journey; work hard but it doesn’t guarantee success but the lack of it guarantees failure.

He urged them to “be innovative because the only that is constant is change; do not focus your mind on making money, but on satisfying your client, creating value and if you do that, then money will come; you need a good spouse and above all you need God.”
The Sahara Group Co-Founder, Tonye Cole, a game changer in the oil and gas industry, advised the aspiring entrepreneurs to think big but to start small, saying he began his now very big company in a boy’s quarters of a house in Surulere, Lagos.
The urged them not to be carried away with their emerging status because it was important for them to save money to enable them increase the capacity of their businesses.

He said there were concepts that could deceive them, like setting up office in a high-profile building or buying a big car to announce their new status, which would definitely impact negatively on their business.
Giving her talk, Funke Opeke, whose company, MainOne Cable, provides the backbone for internet services in the country, advised the aspiring entrepreneurs to discipline themselves if they intended to do well, adding they should develop the capacity within them.