Nigerian named among six global high performing entrepreneurs

Gossy Ukanwoke, chief executive officer, BAU Research and Development Nigeria Limited, has been selected alongside five other entrepreneurs, spanning six continents, as world’s high performing entrepreneurs. For this feat, Ukanwoke will join his counterparts from around the world to participate in Ernst & Young (EY)’s prestigious entrepreneurship programme tagged ‘Accelerating Entrepreneurs’.

The programme, run by Ernst & Young (EY), gives support to six high-potential entrepreneurs from around the world to scale up their business by receiving one-to-one expert guidance, networking and insight-sharing opportunities at the 15th EY’s annual ‘Global World Entrepreneur Of The Year’ event in Monaco, billed to take place between 3 and7 June, 2015. Applications for EY’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ are usually open for entrepreneurs by the beginning of each year.

The final six participants, who were selected by an independent judging panel of ‘Growth Coaches’, assessed through criteria such as entrepreneurial spirit, social impact, innovation and leadership, are Sarah Kauss (S’well Bottle, US); Stefanie Kurniadi (NasiGoreng Mafia, Indonesia), Idriss Al Rifai (MENA 360, United Arab Emirates), Bulent Tekmen, (Ininal, Turkey) and Gossy Ukanwoke (BAU Research and Development, Nigeria Limited).

According to Bunmi Akinde, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Leader for West Africa, the selection of Gossy Ukanwoke, who is the only African on the list, points to the level of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit embedded in Nigeria.

“Nigerians have always been entrepreneurial people, innovative and enterprising even under difficult circumstances. They find solutions to the problems we face as Africans and reinforce that the Africa growth story is a narrative we are writing ourselves. This is definitely true of his entrepreneurial drive and we are proud to showcase him on a global stage,” says Bunmi Akinde.

Bryan Pearce, global leader, EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year and Venture Capital, says, “As enterprises scale up, they have a huge impact on their communities and the wider world through the jobs they create and the innovative products and services they offer. That’s why it’s so important we support them at this critical stage of their journey by opening up our network to them.”

“The EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year event brings together some of the world’s finest and most accomplished entrepreneurs, many of whom have grown to become global market leaders. Being ‘accelerating entrepreneurs’ is a great chance for these six participants who are tomorrow’s market leaders to learn from these people, with hands-on advice at the event and year-long mentorship to help them on the next stage of their growth journey”.

Winners will receive a comprehensive programme of advice, support and mentorship, including:

•A 90-minute session at EY Global World Entrepreneur Of The Year where participants will present their business plans to a panel of “Growth Coaches” who will provide feedback and direction.

•The opportunity to form ongoing mentoring relationships with Growth Coaches and EY Global World Entrepreneur Of The Year country winners.

•The opportunity to attend EY Global World Entrepreneur Of The Year, all expenses paid, to meet and network with leading entrepreneurs from over 60 countries who will gather in Monte Carlo.

•An EY Vantage Advisor seconded to their business for six weeks to help address their biggest obstacles and create long-term business goals for growth.

The ‘Growth Coaches’ are:

•BrankoMilutinovi, CEO of a leading gaming company, Nordeus, Serbia

•Diane Foreman, chairman and CEO of New Zealand’s Emerald Group, New Zealand

•Ariel Pfeffer, co-founder of Latin America’s Punta Tech Meetup, Uruguay

•Ken Goldman, CFO of multinational Internet corporation Yahoo, US

•Ivan Teh, founder, CEO and managing director of Malaysia’s Fusionex, Malaysia

•Edgar Bronfman, Jr. (Endeavor Board Member), managing partner at Accretive LLC and Endeavor Chairman, US.

As a research & development outfit, BAU R&D, has through its investment and service delivery, provided a centralised solution to the issues of access through technology and financing; the issues of quality through research, as well as those of relevance through curriculum development and partnerships.

ODINAKA ANUDU