Hard work, resilience, discipline propel Nigeria’s U-30 entrepreneurs

There is a shift in the mindset of entrepreneurs under 30 years in Nigeria. It is no longer business as usual as they understand clearly that hard work is the shortest ladder to stardom. A lot of them no longer complain about Nigeria’s business environment but put measures in place to deal with exigencies. Also, many of them have accountants, pay themselves and no longer draw money from the business at will.

Keturah Ovio-Onoweya runs Qeturah.com. At 26, Keturah has founded two start-ups—Qeturah.com and Usanii. While Qeturah is a Lagos-based social enterprise dedicated to promoting made in Nigeria brands and businesses through online and offline platforms, Usanii was ideated to be the online resource to discover, collect and learn about unique African artists and their works.

Trained as a software engineer in the UK, Keturah has helped over 150 brands and independent sellers all over Nigeria find markets.

She started in 2015 with $200, which was invested in domain purchase and hosting. Today, diligence has propelled her business to more than $15,000.

“I see a lot of growth potential. I believe billion-dollar businesses will emerge (are already emerging) from the Nigerian tech ecosystem and I’m glad to be a part of it. I believe tech is Nigeria’s new oil so it is time for investors and government to give attention to the serious boom already happening,” she tells Start-Up Digest.

How many young people today can cook?

Even when many can, how many are capable of turning that into a profession?

The 25-year-old Victor Kalu is one of them.

Kalu is the chief executive officer of Kalu Chef Special, a start-up that specialises in indoor and outdoor catering services in Anambra and its environs.

He started his catering business immediately after his tertiary education at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University three years ago. Kalu was inspired to establish his business because he wanted to be independent.

Kalu started his business with N30,000 in 2014, an amount he spent on registration, obtaining a business card and establishing a website for the business. Today, he is a success story in his neighbourhood, managing his money with utmost care. He wakes up very early to prepare the meals alongside his staff members.

“For me, cooking is like an art. A good meal that is not attractively presented will not serve its purpose completely, and it will only quench hunger but not the feeling of wanting more,” he says.

Next is the 25-year-od Chris Kwekowe turned down a job at Bill Gates’ Microsoft because he desired to create jobs for unemployed Nigerians through his Slatecube’s digital internship.

Before setting up Slatecube, the Abia State-born Computer Science graduate had co-founded Microbold with his younger brother, Ebube, when he was just 19. Microbold is an innovation-driven ICT solutions provider for start-ups and SMEs. It is interesting to note that 12 of Chris’ classmates did their internship at his Microbold in 2014.

Slatecube runs a three-tiered programme in which users complete courses in their selected courses, after which they are assigned virtual internships, which allow them to work remotely for big tech companies.

In 2015, the Nnamdi Azikiwe University graduate won $25,000 for the Anzisha Prize, an award for budding African entrepreneurs.

ODINAKA ANUDU