Duality Business Academy and Junior
Chamber International, Ota observed the United Nations International Day for
Poverty Eradication by hosting the Business, Entrepreneurship & Leadership
Summit (BELSummit) to enlighten participants and encourage them to start
businesses that are viable and sustainable.
The Summit which was held on the
17th of October, 2015 was tagged “Education and Entrepreneurship: Catalyst to
Wealth Creation” with speakers: JCI Senator Paschal Dike, the newly elected JCI
World President, the C.E.O. Emobella Engineering, Precious Adeho, winner,
YouWin Grant and Tony Elumelu Foundation Grant, and Dr. (Mrs.) Olufunke
Akinkurolere, the Rector, Ogun State Institute of Technology and Mr. Babatunde
Thomas, CEO Legacy Insurance Brokers Ltd present.
Nigeria’s poverty rate presently is
put at 33.1% and its youth population has one of the highest unemployment rates
in the world at 7.5%. It was for this reason that the BELSummit was organized
to create awareness for startup opportunities and help facilitate the startup
process through the Academy. The Conference Secretary, Yetunde C. Babatunde
made this known when she explained that, “[our] pledge as a body is to raise
sustainable businesses and entrepreneurs one, two, three at a time.”
The first speaker, Dr. (Mrs.) O.
Akinkurolere said that “our community needs the Enterprising youths if it will
develop. She admonished that “all youths gathered here must develop
enterprising spirit or become enterprise minded for our community to experience
the kind of development it deserves.”
JCI Senator Paschal Dike in his
presentation on Social Leadership enjoined the participants who to be
empathetic as entrepreneurs as this would enable them provide services that
will not only make them money but will be useful to the society at large as
this is the foundation of most longstanding businesses.
Precious Adeho, C.E.O of Emobella
Engineering in his words said, “Poverty is a disease of the mind that can only
be cured through a positive mental shift” and he admonished participants to
first discover themselves before they can be successful as entrepreneurs.
He noted that an entrepreneur is
one who look for problem in society to solve thereby adding value to humanity
in exchange for money. He said: ‘The more problem you solve the more money you
attract and the more value you give to humanity the more money you attract’
The programme which also featured a
plenary session with secondary school student participants representing
Presidents of the each country of the United Nations and Abiola Ige
representing The Secretary General of the United Nations to discuss poverty
challenge and solutions. A panel discussion and an award presentation ceremony
is part of the vision to raise a new generation of entrepreneurs.
President, Junior Chamber
International (JCI), OTA Chapter, JCIN (Amb.) Adewale Akomolafe, having
commended efforts of the speakers at the event stated that 50 percent of the
world’s population, which is about1.2 billion, is within the range of extreme
poverty, waiting for any opportunity for them and their families to live better
life
The Summit’s convener, Abiodun
Babalola who is also the Director of Duality Business Academy made it known
that he started the Academy for empowering people who want to start business
and also those who want to expand.
As more small businesses are being
established and few people gain employed it will go a long way to reduce
poverty and according to him Duality MicroCredit the organization he founded
has disbursed over N20 million in loan to small business owners within 3 years
of its existence and it would gladden his heart if more youths can take
advantage of this to become employers of labour.
You can follow the programme on the twitter handle @BelSummit and
#lighttheway.
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