***Says Nigerians need entrepreneurial mindsets to succeed
By Itodo Daniel Sule
A US-based Nigerian entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer of Black Panther and White Lion, Mr Sunny Akhigbe on Wednesday said he is fine-tuning arrangements with partners to boost micro and macro businesses in the country.
Akhigbe, who is also the founder of ‘A Boy and His Dream Foundation’, spoke in Abuja during an interaction with some stakeholders on his organisation’s plans to support micro and macro businesses in the country, said every Nigerian has what it takes to be self-reliant and prosper.
He said his organisation was concluding plans with partners to train Nigerians with relevant entrepreneurial skill sets and also support them with loans to establish various micro and macro businesses across the country.
Akhigbe said the initiative which will begin in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, has the target of creating thousands of jobs for unemployed youths and other Nigerians across the country.
“The organisation is going to provide the micro and macro enterprise to people, whereby you’ll be able to give soft loans to small businesses, and teach them the repayment method and mindset. You have to pay back.You take the loan, you pay back. But that is until we teach you the skill sets to be able to succeed in your various merchandise and businesses,” he said.
He said the goal of the organisation was to “create that entrepreneurial enterprise through micro enterprise, whereby everyone is given access to resources that they need to succeed in their small businesses.”
“That’s what’s lacking right now. Small businesses are suffering. There are no resources. There’s no loan. So if we can provide those micro loans to those small businesses, give them the resources and the skill sets that they need to succeed in it, and over time, everybody will be liberated”, he said.
He said Nigerians need to awaken and develop entrepreneurial mindsets to be liberated from the current cycle of economic hardship and poverty.
Akhigbe, who narrated the inspiring story of how he rose from grass to grace bracing all odds by dint of determination for success, said Nigerians can succeed if they develop creative mindset and be hardworking.
“I’m black, born here. I faced adversity. My father didn’t want me growing up. I used to sleep on the street. So when you see me right now, you’re like, man, okay, this man was born into wealth. No. I used to work as as a security guard in Warri (Delta State), from where I managed to go to a local university here.
“When I was a child, I would stay in a classroom during the holiday. Everybody went home because I didn’t have no home to go to. So when I finally go to some home, I’m going to an uncle that’s going to use me in a farm. I’ll be working for 17 hours. That was me. Chewing roasted corn for dinner and lunch and breakfast.”
He said through his passion and determination for success, he was able to complete his graduate and postgraduate studies in the United States of America where he is now settled with his family, owning a number of firms.
He said all the country needed was for the people to change their mindsets from being “fish eaters to become fishermen.”
“For Nigeria to be liberated, the mindsets of the people have to change first. Not necessarily the government; the people have to change first. So, the change you’re looking for in the government, you have to first of all demonstrate it within yourself. I know that there’s a lot of hardship right now but the people of Nigeria should just know that the change is within them.
“The change is within you. Liberate yourself to becoming an entrepreneur. Create that entrepreneurial mindset and be able to fund your micro enterprise. And then once you become an entrepreneur and become sustainable, you do not need your government. You need yourself. Start consuming and creating. Create to sell out to the people. This is the way it is. If you want to be successful, create something. Create something that is not in the marketplace and provide it to the market people and sell.
“And that’s how you make money and become very successful. You know, create that entrepreneurial mindset and you’ll be liberated from all this hardship”, he said.