THE NEED

The hustle is real.

Have you been on the streets of Lagos?

What do you see?

Men, women, young and old who are either setting up a business or startup, or own already established businesses. The online space, especially social media, has become a compulsory makeshift business place with entrepreneurs competing to gain the attention of prospects. You can hardly scroll through a page without seeing an ad or a business post. It is safe to say that everyone is selling something nowadays; be it physical product, digital products and what-have-you.

But, this is not surprising at all. What’s with the banged up economy that keeps getting worse by the day and the unemployment rates soaring through the roof. No one wants to be out on the corporate streets for too long looking for job, interview after interview, when they have mouths to feed at home. And no one wants to be taken by surprise by sudden company downsizing and be out of a job, knowing how hard it is to get one. Everyone is on their toes!

We are at a stage in time when it is inappropriate not to have a business, side hustle, or startup. Surprisingly, Nigeria is in the top, according to a poll performed by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Indeed, the survey stated that a burgeoning generation of grassroots self-starters is taking risks and defying obstacles to bring their money-making ideas to fruition across Africa. According to the report, 35 Nigerian adults out of every 100 are active in some form of entrepreneurship. 

This is why Ohaju Obed Ifeanyi embarked on a project titled “Passion to Business Empire” under DO-Take Action to enlighten youths on how to turn their passion into profitable a business. 23-yar-old Ifeanyi is a Serial Author and Keynote Speaker who discusses majorly on issues that border around Business, Leadership, Real Estate Investment and Digital Book Publishing. He is the CEO, Dream Weave Africa Consult. A tech and business consulting firm whose main focus is in recreating, repositioning and re-engineering the ideas of 21st century entrepreneurs through professional training, mentorship and providing necessary empowerment for Africans. Currently, Ifeanyi is studying English Language and Literature at the prestigious University of Benin. He is passionate about training and inspiring youths in different communities in Anambra, Enugu, Edo State and through various social media platforms to become the better version of themselves and be the change our nation longs for.

Ifeanyi hosted the project virtually with over 90 young entrepreneurs in attendance. The two-day training entailed the following details:

•         A leadership session on “DEVELOPING A LEADERSHIP MINDSET”
•         A business session on “ONLINE BUSINESSES THAT CAN MAKE YOU 1 MILLION NAIRA”.
•         Questions and feedback

In the course of the project, over 90 young entrepreneurs got trained on Business ideation, Financing, Management, integration of ICT in business and more importantly, Leadership. The participants pledged to recruit and create opportunities for out-of-school youths within their community. A minimum of 3 GDCs recruited from the participants to organize a Passion to Business Empire outreach in their community.