A Not-for-Profit organisation, Bayi Foundation has urged young local entrepreneurs on solving Nigeria’s infrastructural challenges so as to bring down the high cost of production through creativity.
The Founder, Bayi Foundation, Mr Temidayo Adebayo stated this in Ibadan on Friday at the 2024 Business Expo and Pitch Competition held at the University of Ibadan (UI).
Adebayo stated that the event was to expose locally made goods in Ibadan and also to have more youths exposed to their local products.
He said Nigeria has been running an import led economy but the event was with a view to depend on less on importation of goods from outside the country.
“We are trying to make our youths see what has been locally made and available for them here at a decent price,” Adebayo said.
He stated that the pitch competition was to bring out the best business that would enjoy support from the foundation.
“We also did a blind pitch competition for students of the University of Ibadan and we will be picking four business entrepreneurers that would enjoy product design and development as well as funding,” Adebayo said.
He said the goal of the foundation was localising Nigeria’s production by exposing entrepreneurs to markets that were available within their environment.
Speaking on high cost of production, Adebayo said in a market like Nigeria we are still in an infrastructure deficit stage “and it is expected but that expectations also create opportunities.”
He, however, challenged the youths to look inward and start whatever was not available in terms of infrastructure in the country.
“Our challenge is not infrastructure but infrastructural thinking such that youths think beyond the limitations of the government,” Adebayo said.
Two students of the UI, Oluwanifemi Oladehinde, a 100 level English student and Fatima Madaki, a 100 level Religious student said the business expo was an eye opener to provide solutions to challenges.
Also, one of the entrepreneurs at the expo, Mrs Dupe Alabi said the event was impressive as it had helped to improve her knowledge on business management.
In an interview, the Oyo State Chairman of National Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (NASME), Prince John Karunwi said no nation can grow without MSMEs.
Karunwi said the event was to identify youths with entrepreneural capacity, develop and showcase their abilities with a view to solving youths unemployment.
The Business and Grant Analyst, Bayi Foundation, Mr Michael Adebanjo said empowering SMEs would create employment in their immediate environment.
Adebanjo stated that the goal of the event held at UI was to connect with students’ entrepreneurs in order to catch them young and help them build good businesses.
