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Held on April 13th, 2024, at the Landmark Event Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos, the Doing Business in Nigeria Conference (DBNC) tackled the theme “Sustainable Transformations: Innovation for Growth.” Aruoture “Rotus” Oddiri, a prominent TV host with Arise Media Group, skillfully steered the conference program.
Linda Uneze, the event’s mastermind, shared the inspiration behind the conference. Driven by her own experiences navigating the Nigerian business landscape, she envisioned a platform to empower others to overcome similar challenges.
She said,
DBNC was created to ensure that we can have people who have the experience to share with other SMEs. I run a business and I know sometimes, it can be difficult, and at times I feel isolated because not everyone feels the unique hurdles that entrepreneurs face. I wanted a platform where people can inspire others by sharing how they were able to navigate some of the peculiar challenges that we find in our nation.
The highlight of the event was the business pitch which had four people contesting for the grant to boost their businesses. An entrepreneur Ruth Ede won the grant of N5m for her business which was said to have immediate success and solve problems. While not awarded the top prize, one business received a financial grant to support its growth, impressing the judges with its potential.
The judges on the business pitch were the CEO of Landmark Group, Paul Onwuanibe; the Executive Director of Wimbiz, Hansatu Adegbite; and the CEO of Arravo, Dr Ayo Adegboye.
It was a resourceful and insightful event featuring keynote speakers such as Mitchell Elegbe, the founder and Group CEO of Interswitch; Binta Max-Gbinije, Chief Executive of BMG7even; and Wole Adeniyi, CEO of Stanbic IBTC Bank. During his keynote address, Adeniyi emphasized the importance of numbers in business, citing it as a key reason why many international businesses are drawn to the Nigerian market.
On his part, Elegbe said inflation is not new to the country. Hence, business people should study history and learn how companies that experienced inflation did to survive.
The panel sessions were divided into two, and the first panel had the Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade, and Investment, Federal Republic of Nigeria, John Uwajumogu, on it. Others on the panel were the CEO of Heckerbella, Yemi Keri; General Manager, West Africa, General Electric Healthcare, Dr George Uduku; Head of Investment Banking West Africa, Rand Merchant Bank, Chidi Iwuchukwu; HCSE Director, BUA Cement and MD EnvAccord, Ibrahim Salau; and Partner, Banwo & Ighodalo, Toyin Bashir.
The topic for the first-panel session was “Doing Business in Nigeria: The Opportunities, Challenges, and Realities” while the second panel focused on “Catalyst for Success: Strategic Business Growth Approaches.”
The speakers for the second session were;
The CEO of Development Bank of Nigeria; Dr Tony Okpanachi
MD/CEO of Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), Jane Egerton Idehen
Country Director & CEO, Dale Carnegie Nigeria; Patrick Nwakogo
Director, Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group; Ejiro Gray
GMD/CEO of Mojec Group; Chantelle Abdul.
The program was made possible with the support of media partners including Business Day, Nairametrics, The Punch Newspaper, Business Insider, Streamline Media, E-motion, and BellaNaija.
Mimmi Kasu was a collaborator while Maurice Xandra Solutions, AA Holdings, Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), UnoTelos, Arravo, Landmark Group, GE Healthcare, Guinness, Environmental accord, Clarendelle, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Josien Holdings, Mamador, and Obasanjo Farms Nigeria (OFN) sponsored the grand event.
BellaNaija is a media partner for Doing Business in Nigeria Conference (DBNC)
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