A vote for Red Star Express and her 1000 SMEs
The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been trending recently. Most organizations would not end their story without saying how deeply committed they are to giving back to their environment. Indeed, many Nigeria entities have formed foundations through which they execute CSR activities to positively impact their immediate environment. One of such organisations is Red Star Express, which has an institutionalised programme for promoting SMEs in Nigeria.
The older ones among us may recall how in the early 1990s, a small company came into the logistics industry with a certain boldness and ambition that some felt was both amusing and intriguing. It was amusing because Red Star Express, with all due respect, literally had no story behind it other than the zeal of some young men who had a dream. It was like a nonstarter venturing into an industry that was firmly and squarely in the hands of giants. Moreover, these giants were not local champions but international heavy weights like the United Parcel Service (UPS) – the world’s largest package delivery company and a provider of supply chain management solutions around the world, and DHL (a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post, providing international courier, parcel and express mail services.
Many had thought that Red Star Express was going to be a flash in the pan. However, by 2007, Red Star Express had become a successful Public Limited Company (PLC), whose shares were trading actively on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. Today, it has forged partnerships with world leaders like FEDEX, delivering documents in 220 countries and offering global logistics solutions.
Last week, the Red Star Group brought together hundreds of SME operators in Nigeria, as part of what has become its tradition of supporting entrepreneurs to grow their dreams of successful businesses, and to also showcase their talents. The forum tagged “SME 1000”, was an all-expenses paid one-day seminar, which featured public lectures, counselling and an exhibition of the output of SMEs in various production and service activities. I had the privilege of being invited as a Subject Matter Expert to speak at the seminar and also to chair one of the interactive sessions.
The forum proved once again that some Nigerians are working very hard, even in the face of daunting challenges, to contribute to national development. On display was raw faith in their country, despite the unstable business environment, created and sustained by bad politics (some call it stomach infrastructure politics), that is not only anti-people but ultimately anti-Nigeria. It was evident, by their investments in different sectors, that these ordinary people have more faith in Nigeria than their leaders who invest abroad. If they are supported with a friendly environment and other enabling resources that forums like the SME 1000 provide, they will effectively discharge their duties as agents of growth, employers of labour and family stabilizers.
The enthusiasm of the operators was very palpable. They exhibited the energy and boisterousness that is patently Nigerian. All the products on display had one thing in common – they were made of wholly Nigerian materials. They include healthy living nutrition items, clothing and footwear, and services. There was eagerness to learn, evidenced by the attention paid to speakers, and their vibrancy inthe interactive sessions.
However, as I have said elsewhere – and this was also on display at the forum – there is a lot of knowledge gap. People lack knowledge of the basic things even in their own business areas. There is little or no preparation prior to launching out as entrepreneurs. Nor is there much effort to train on the go. Most people do not understand that there is a difference between entrepreneurs and entrapreneurs. Entrapreneurs are smart people who can lead parts of an enterprise but not the whole. They are not yet ripe, for any number of reasons, to lead the entire organization. They should work under entrepreneurs. Many of those running the SMEs are entrapreneurs.
The forum gave me the opportunity to speak briefly on the new Moveable Collateral Registry law of which sadly, participants were united in their being at sea on the matter. An enlightenment campaign in this area is necessary. It is a national responsibility and not that of SMEs. We owe it to our country to ensure that laws passed to cure any mischief actually do so. This is only possible if we promote mass awareness of such legislation. The loud silence that trails the passage of the Movable Collateral Registry and Credit Registry laws is worrisome. One had expected that stakeholders would, through statements, lectures and seminars, help promote understanding of the laws.
Thankfully, the NDIC, which is gradually building itself as a knowledge organization, took the lead in promoting the understanding and use of movable collateral as security for loans. In a training session organised for staff members, which I had the privilege of participating as a facilitator, I emphasized that the benefit of any legislation lies not in its passage but in its implementation. And implementation cannot be successful except there is proper understanding of the issues. The NDIC being a regulator that is alive to its responsibilities to the financial system should be commended for quickly bringing its staff up to speed in these critical area of our financial sector reform.
Quite often we do things late. We are trailing Ghana, which passed her collateral registry laws about ten years ago. That is not the problem. The real challenge is that we do not follow through. If care is not taken these critical economy-friendly laws may suffer the fate of many others– gather dust and we operate by rule of the thumb. I expect stakeholders to be active promoters of these laws, which may hold the key to the integration of the informal sector to the mainstream of the economy. The palpable silence that has followed the passage of the Moveable Assets Registry and Credit Registry laws is typical of our focus on the short end of everything.
Finally, let’s place on record, the appreciation of the SME advocacy community to Red Star Express. As Sola Obabori, the GMD/CEO said, Red Star believes that it is in the interest of every company to promote its client base. Any wonder why the company has not only become the leader in logistics but a truly successful Nigerian entity with international flavour, which within 25 years has 150 offices, employing over 1700 staff and serving 1500 communities. Sowing and reaping are indeed equal and opposite.
Emeka Osuji