‘E-commerce has changed the face of my business’

Chinedu Egeonu is the chief executive officer of Chinex Investment Nigeria Limited, which deals in video gaming.
Chinedu was inspired to establish his video game business out of his love for gaming and opportunities he found in it. According to him, he loved playing video games right from his childhood and always believed that there was a business opportunity he could tap from.
In his quest to establish the business, Chinedu had to become an apprentice to learn its basics. After serving as an apprentice for some years, he raised little money to establish his business in 2015.
The young entrepreneur started his business with N200,000 which he was given after serving his boss in January 2015. That was what he used to get some consoles. This continued until he was able to set up his own shop.
He said despite the fact that he loved video games right from his childhood, he developed more interest in the business when he was working for his boss, which was how he got motivated into starting the business.
“The most important thing in this business is God, and knowledge of what the business is about. You must learn. It is not just something one would run into. Again, without hard work, focus and integrity, God cannot help. When people are able to trust you, you get more customers all over the world because they believe in the value they are getting from you,” he said.

He said despite the poor state of the Nigerian economy and bad roads, he was still able to conquer.
“My business rose financially when I started selling online, using platforms such as Jumia, Konga and Jiji, among others. What I do is that I place my goods on these platforms at any price and people call and I deliver to them at better profits. Now, I have lots of goods in my shop. I am able to send my sister to school and rent my own apartment,” he disclosed.
“My only challenge has really been finance. If I have access to cheap funds, I can buy a lot of goods that can yield better profits, but I don’t have enough to get these goods. I really plan to buy a shop of my own because I believe this business can transform my life as well by God’s grace and efforts.”
He said it was improper for any young person to keep searching for jobs in the country when there were opportunities across the country.
“I know many graduates who own gaming centers today and as well sell game accessories. Some of the people who come to watch games can do so at their homes, but today they are happy patronising those who own gaming business. People love games, it gives joy and relaxation of the mind. It makes one forget one’s problems at any period of time. If not gaming, you can learn a handwork. You can repair games for people as well: People call it home service. When my customers’machines develop fault, I am able to repair them, so there is nothing they will want to do that I won’t gain from,” he added.

Angel James