Government must provide amenities for businesses to thrive - Nwokoro
Chima Nwokoro runs a consultancy company, 5TT Partners Limited that supports foreign companies seeking to either enter or grow market share within the sub-sahara African region, as well as
What is 5TT Partners Limited about? 5TT Partners is a business development consultancy company but I also run another outfit 5TT Profit Club for my investment and trading arm of things.
- ment that touched me and made me think, and it is ‘countries that do business together may fall into trade wars but would - munition
What is the company’s goals and vision and how do they align with demands in today’s business world?
My goal is to transfer knowledge, skills and experience from people who are doing it. For me, the drive is that Africans should not look for help anymore. We should collaborate with other people. So instead of being needy, let us collaborate. I heard this statement that touched me and made me think, and it is ‘countries that do business together would never go into war.’ They may fall into trade wars but would not fight with ammunition. They may disagree on a lot of levels, but they would never bomb themselves because there is too much at stake.
How do 5TT Partners help businesses and professional organisations seeking to extend their products, services and operations within Africa?
There are two arms to this. Initially, it’s to help foreign companies who are trying to break into the African market to help them understand our market and to see where their products can sell, or if their product can sell and then to help them see how they can structure a sales channel within the region.
So that is one part of it, from foreign into Africa. Then within Africa to others is my EWW - Enterprise Without Walls. We are saying to the SMES and the individual business owner like a shoemaker, that they should not only sell their products within Nigeria, rather they should be able to sell to Ghanaians, South Africans, British and Americans. So we are helping people to be able to do that without necessarily having to create all the overhead the traditional business model creates for you. But being able to show them that they can attract these clients on the internet space and make use of existing logistic channels to be able to ship these products to anywhere you need them to go. First of all, is getting that person who is making the shoe to see that he can, from Aba, get his shoes to Kaduna without necessarily having to go to Kaduna himself to market because we are in a global
society. Through the Internet, he can put his shoes in front of me and let me see his shoes and I can make a choice whether I want to buy the shoe or not. By clicking a button I can place an order. He can then use the local logistics company and pay them a fraction of what I paid him to deliver the shoes to me. Again from inside to outside is EWW, and from outside to inside is bringing foreign companies to open the market, understand and research the market.
Who are your target markets? And what are the services your organisation offers to clients?
It depends on what part of my business you’re talking about. For EWW, business development coaching, my targets are professionals and small business owners. The one that involves bringing investors outside or into Africa, my target clients will be multinationals or big companies that are outside trying to look for a client base. So I’m looking at existing businesses needing the services or the existing businesses of services abroad. For the 5TT Profit Club side, I target persons, individuals seeking to take advantage and be in control of their finance.
When did you commence 5TT Partners and what success stories have you recorded since you commenced the organisation?
5TT Partners Ltd started in 2018 when I decided to have some focus in Africa. Then, I decided to move my way back from the UK. Talking of success stories, a major client of mine which is a German company; we’ve been able to establish not just a Nigerian supply contract for them, but a global contract for them as well. Now we can also supply to South Africa, Singapore and the UK. We have been shipping products into Nigeria since June. We have several other success stories.
What are your major challenges and how have you turned some of these challenges to op
portunities?
We have got to start at it to make it. I have a client in Nigeria; it took me 14 months going in and out some times every single day just to be able to get approval for a business deal. You can’t help it the way things are done in Nigeria. It is just that whole process where people expect it to belong. And you wonder why things take so long in Nigeria. The system isn’t efficient.
What policies do you think the government can enact to support the consultancy/marketing industry?
In my opinion, these three things are needed - people, land and resources. Nigerians are industrious generally, where the government is failing us is being able to provide the basic amenities. Because where the amenities exist, business, marketing and consultants would thrive. If we are not making things, we cannot be opening offices. You consult for offices that need to find ways to save money or more efficient ways to get things turned around. For us to help them achieve this, then some of these basic things like the right policies for business, environment, tax policies, infrastructure like power, rail and water transport that should help them move the product, should be in place.