BoI, LBS Reiterate Support For Entrepreneurs

The Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Lagos Business School (LBS) have restated their commitment to developing the capacities of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the country.

Dean, Lagos Business School, Prof. Chris Ogbechie, made the pledge at the LBS-BOI Entrepreneurship Development Programme Graduation Ceremony- Cohort 1, themed, ‘Transforming Nigeria through Impact Driven Entrepreneurship’ held  in Lagos.

Ogbechie said, an integral part of the mission at LBS was to make a significant impact on the practice of management, which was core to the success of every organisation, big or small.

He noted that the school’s strategic goals placed emphasis on increasing entrepreneurial outcomes, based on the knowledge that today’s society needed more job creators than job seekers.

He disclosed that the entrepreneurship programme would train entrepreneurs from all six geo-political zones of the country.

“We will contribute to helping the flood ravaged entrepreneurs in Kogi State, rebuild their community by generating the solutions they need to recover, while creating employment opportunities,” he said.

The managing director, BoI, Olukayode Pitan, said, entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa face various challenges, adding that the overarching objective of setting up the Entrepreneurship Innovation Centre (EIC) was to address them.

He noted that with the increasing population of young and dynamic entrepreneurs, it was imperative that the required financial and business advisory support services were provided in a sustainable manner to enable them thrive.

He said that the EIC would build the capacity of the entrepreneurs and foster the creation of an ecosystem that nurtures entrepreneurship, by enabling knowledge sharing opportunities.

“At the BoI, we believe that there can be no inclusive growth and sustainable development in Nigeria if we do not deliberately and proactively ensure that existing challenges that hold back a majority of our entrepreneurs from reaching their full potential are addressed,” he said.

Director, EIC, Dr Henrietta Onwuegbuzie, stated that business schools have a pivotal role in facilitating and accelerating the goals of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA).

This realisation, she said, made it imperative for business schools to have centres like EIC to provide opportunities to foster learning forums among African entrepreneurs and business executives.

She noted that to achieve the objectives of the AfCFTA, it had consequently become imperative to organise intra African business meetings, especially among participants of business schools across the continent.

This, she said, would enable African entrepreneurs to become more familiar with one another, thus facilitating the formation of joint ventures to exploit the opportunities in different countries.

She revealed that the BoI-LBS programme would be organising intra-African business meetings across the continent to expose them to networks and opportunities beyond the Nigerian market.