ORODE IMEVBORE
TEACHING ENTREPRENUERSHIP
Nigerian women are the fastest growing demographic of entrepreneurs in Africa. Despite this statistic, a lot of the women find it increasingly challenging to traverse the entrepreneur landscape and secure venture capital funding. How do you create a business that is successful and profitable? More importantly, what is needed to sustain your business and expand? Orode Imevbore is a serial entrepreneur who has discovered how to grow and maintain a profitable business.
Orode didn’t come from an entrepreneurial background but learned lessons through her many wins and losses. Recently she sat down with KONYE CHELSEA NWABOGOR to discuss what she’s learned along the way, business necessities every founder should consider and how her recent venture Business in Boxx Africa came about.
How did you become an entrepreneur?
My entrepreneur’s journey started both by default and desire - default because even though I got my Law degree, did my Bar exams and attempted a fulltime career in Law, my keen interest and passion was always outside Law. So naturally, I started to explore these other interests. My first major entrepreneurial activity was a clothing line, Stress Clothing that myself and two other budding entrepreneurs including my brother Tosan Jemide, started and it was successful but a real baptism of fire into the unknown. I loved the freedom it came with and was happy to live with the responsibility of self-survival knowing that a lot of your successes and failures are about you. And it gave me a taste of and a hunger for the life of an entrepreneur. The rest they say is history. After that, I became serial.
Tell us a bit about yourself?
I will readily admit that I am a strong woman, a strong God-loving and God-fearing woman with lot of self-awareness, and more than enough selfrespect and self-belief. I was born into a family of men. All my siblings are men and I am the last child of my Mum, so I had a beautiful childhood being spoilt as an only girl and last child. But I also learnt to hold my own in the midst of so much strength. I had no choice but to build inner strength and it has worked for me. I don’t believe I am limited by my gender or much else. My Father raised me to see myself as able to excel and compete on equal footing with any man (or woman) so I don’t even think of myself as a woman when I am operating in my professional space. I think women have so much to offer that they don’t really need to wear a gender toga to make an impact. I say ’If you don’t get a seat at the table, create your own table’! I am happy to see loads of women doing just that. I am an extroverted introvert. I love my family and I love people. I am extremely tender-hearted towards those who need help but will often shy away from crowds. I love my peace and quiet and I am not averse to being alone even though I deliberately seek the company of those who bring love and value to my life. I don’t like injustice and will more often than not end up fighting for the underdog. Most of my fights are rarely my own.
The other things to note about me is that I am very passionate about the Nigerian Project. I love Nigeria and firmly believe that I must participate in the governance process one way or another. That includes casting my vote; holding elected and other serving officers accountable and serving my country whenever the opportunity arises regardless of party affiliations.
So, was getting involved in Consultancy a natural step for you with your background in Law?
I think it was more the natural step for someone who likes being part of the solution and is also a thinker.
I have always been solution oriented. I am inclined to seek and see solutions rather than focus on the problems, so this inclination translated into an occupation. I thought it made perfect sense to be offering solutions rather than join the chorus of problem seers.
I also recognised early that we have some gaps in Nigeria’s educational system that would require filling. It is widely acknowledged that we are not turning out a highly skilled workforce that can meet the needs of the Nigerian marketplace. Even teachers are poorly trained and ill-equipped for the tough job of building our youth into viable adults. In the public sector, which caters for a majority of Nigerian children, ‘Teacher Quality’ is low and so is ‘Student Achievement’. We are way behind in terms of our national education indices. As a result, in addition to the huge infrastructural challenges organisations face, they also have to deal with the tedium and expense of a poorly trained workforce. These competency gaps have resulted in a higher need for ‘on the job’ training. The value debate between human resources and machines may still be on but it is clear that human resources still have a huge role to play in driving any organization. Organisations end up with staff that need to be trained and re-trained and that’s a gap I am happy to fill.
One of the fundamental difficulties in the crowded consultancy landscape is distinguishing your company from competitors who are just as easily available to shoppers. What choices did you make to position your company differently?
The first choice was to attract or build competency in terms of the skill sets required to add value to my clients. Our faculty of consultants and trainers are experts in their fields who understand the importance of meeting the client’s definition of value.
The second choice was to bring some flexibility to the table. Client needs are as different as the clients themselves are. Needs vary with sector which could be public or private; industry; size and pocket of the organisation. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution that can meet these diversified needs. Flexibility allows us to get to know what exactly the client requires and how we can meet that need.
Could you share with us some of your career highlights?
When I think about my career more in terms of wider impact made plus what posed the most mental challenge, it would definitely be my experience in the Delta State public service chairing in an executive capacity for three years the largest parastatal in the state which had a staff strength of 20,000 Teachers and Heads of School. The effort required to create value in the profit and efficiency driven private sector is a walk in the park compared to trying to make an impact in the public sector where the term ‘efficiency’ seems to have been deleted from the dictionary. The challenge was even more complicated by the ethnic complexities of Delta State. It was very fulfilling to face this challenge head on; using negotiation and consensus building tactics to bring compliance and reward innovations that were accepted by stakeholders and widely acknowledged as having worked to make the public-school system more efficient for the children of Delta State. For every handful of teachers or heads of school whose output was improved, thousands of students were impacted. Although the sheer numbers involved made the task very daunting, the gratitude of those who benefitted from the improvements made the experience extremely rewarding.
If there was a headline for your journey during this period, what would it be?
CREATE YOUR OWN TABLE. Bring and build your own value! Nigeria is going through some challenges and seasons like this one are not for the faint-hearted.
This is the time to stop waiting and hoping and start doing. It’s the time to push boundaries and reinvent one’s self to become what is required to thrive and succeed. Don’t limit yourself to past failures or even successes for that matter. Go out every day and make your presence on the earth count.
Don’t be a by-stander or side watcher because it’s your life that is passing by. Participate actively and fully in your life. Be fully present in your life. A sad truth is a lot of people are living their lives but not really or fully present in it. The days are just passing by and their sense of awareness or connection with their world is dulled by the drudgery of repetition as well as ever present challenges.
Keep pushing past boundaries. Keep your dreams and hopes alive. Anyone who has stopped dreaming is as good as dead because a dream is the place where ‘tomorrow’ is birthed.
Fill a gap. Meet a need. Conquer fear. Make something happen instead of waiting for it to happen.
What do you put your success down to?
GRIT GRIT GRIT and more GRIT. It is essential to be competent, knowledgeable and professional so you can offer and receive value. And it’s important to have good people skills and build a network of good people that will help your business grow. But GRIT ensures survival when the going gets tough and some of the other success factors are on sabbatical. Every successful person has had to deploy GRIT at least a few times in their lifetime.
What would you say are the key elements for starting and running a successful business?
• Have a plan and a back-up plan. Resources are only attracted to plan. A dream remains a dream until you make a plan.
• Connect your dots- the things you spend time on or focus on should tie into your plan one way or another.
• Get GRIT and more GRIT. More than any other thing including everything they teach you in business school, this will get you through the
I have always been solution oriented. I am inclined to seek and see solutions rather than focus on the problems, so this inclination translated into an occupation. I thought it made perfect sense to be offering solutions rather than join the chorus of problem seers.
moments of extreme challenge that business throws your way. GRIT will also get you through inevitable seasons of self-doubt.
• Be flexible. Operate the Serenity Prayer. Make changes when needed, accept failures when necessary, be wise to know the difference between the things you should accept and the ones you must change.
• Be prepared to fail forwards- It’s important to know that not every entrepreneurial activity will succeed.
How and why did you get started with Business in a Box Africa?
We started Business in a Box because we believe in creating Employers instead of employees and that’s why the program is focused on teaching entrepreneurship and innovation to university students aged between 18 and 25. With decreasing number of jobs and increasing levels of unemployment, it is not rocket science that the informal sector and SME’s are the answer to job creation. If more young people get into economic activity that creates value for themselves and others, the better for us.
When the bigger corporations are recruiting for one position, they receive an overwhelming number of applications. People are desperate to be employed. But if they could be shown the way to be self-employed and employ others, they will definitely take that option rather than wait years for jobs that they may never get. Business in A
Boxx Africa is just pointing them towards the path of self-employment even before they leave school and providing the support required to help them succeed. The program is focused on teaching entrepreneurship and innovation to university students and other young aged school leavers.
The program provides the necessary tools needed to start and run a successful business.
It has an on-site element which is a six day workshop where students internalize the practice of entrepreneurship, including components of our proven engagement- product testing, market validation, customer segmentation, competitor analysis and go-to market strategies. However, a lot of the long- term support is driven by technology that bridges the distance gap.
Simply put- Business in a Box is in the business of creating entrepreneurs, one entrepreneur at a time.
What has been the most rewarding part of your role with this initiative?
The most rewarding part has been participating in creating opportunities for young people to be assets and not liabilities to themselves and the society at large.
Bin Boxx is a catalyst for job creation, which is arguably one of the biggest challenges our nation faces. It is very satisfying to see how many driven young Nigerians out there that are ready for the entrepreneurial hustle and to know that some of them will have a higher chance of success because of our program. Nigeria actually has one of the highest rates of entrepreneurial activity but it has to be properly channelled to yield the desired result.
As an entrepreneur, what is it that motivates and drives you?
I am primarily motivated by the desire to make an impact on the world around me. Money is important but not the first and sole driving force because I realise that a lot of extremely wealthy people are also extremely unhappy. There have to be other things on the table for me to be driven, social value, fulfilment, and passion. It is important to be happy with what you do.
I always think that I can contribute to making life better one or another while smiling to the bank. That is the best motivator for me. And of course, the fear of failure is another very strong motivator.
What’s your approach to self-care and work- life balance? Are there any rituals you use to survive and thrive?
The first Rule in my self-care book is SELF-LOVE. Know yourself, acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses. Accept that you are not perfect but are still worthy of love even with all your imperfections. Accept that you are work in progress and continue to strive to be your best self. You have to love yourself to give and receive love from others.
Loving yourself is the key to loving others and being good to people. You can’t give what you don’t have so only a balanced secure person can love others. Too many people are struggling with selfhate in one form or another and they project that on others. Make sure you love yourself in the ways that really matter. Take time out to pray and be Godcentered. A relationship with God gives life meaning and you definitely need someone bigger than you to hold your hand through the seasons of life. Take time out to smell the roses as they say, an overly stress frenetic lifestyle that is solely work focused is no way to love yourself. Laugh a whole lot for reasons you don’t have to explain to anyone. Be positive alway, eat healthy; stay fit; deliberately de-stress and declutter your life. Love yourself in whatever way that works for you.
Second Rule in my self-care book is LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE - TODAY! Be fully present and participate in living your best life. Not tomorrow, not next year, live and enjoy life’s moments TODAY. That includes precious moments spent with family, friends and the people that really matter and doing the things that make you smile. There is that old saying that ‘Procrastination is the thief of time’. It’s true in more ways than we think. I think it is important to be deliberate with what and whom you invest your time on. If you have children or young people that you mentor, remember that tomorrow’s world is going to be shaped by them and who they become. A lot is at stake so it’s worthwhile to invest in them.
My third Self-Care Rule is ALWAYS BE OPEN TO LEARNING. Always be open to learning about whether it’s for professional development or just taking in life’s simple or sometimes complicated lessons. Seeing a lesson in my positive or negative experiences helps me to cope better with life and I am better prepared to deal with situations. I think it is important to roll with the punches. Take the good and be extremely thankful for it. But do your best to accept the bad with fortitude. We cannot control everything.
What do you hope to see happen in the near future for small businesses in Nigeria?
It will be nice to see businesses that are more resilient and competitive because they are leveraging on technology and other business tools that make the difference in terms of profitability and scalability. It will be even greater to see small businesses transform into corporations that can be passed from one generation to another and still remain sustainable even if they are privately owned. There are many such businesses, mostly called family businesses in other parts of the world that have thrived for years and remain very strong and profitable. It will be nice to see more Nigerian businesses enter this space and stay there.
This question is for the entrepreneurs just getting into the game. What do you wish you’d known when you started?
No one told me just how EXTREMELY mentally tough you have to be to run a business in this environment where you have to solve so many problems to even function as a business. It would have helped me a lot to know just what I would be dealing with. The system seems rigged to make you fail. You need to know that you must be equally determined to succeed.
Any future plans you would like to share?
The plan is to keep reinventing and pushing into new territories. The how is still under wraps. We’ll just have to watch this space.
This is the time to stop waiting and hoping and start doing. It’s the time to push boundaries and re-invent one’s self to become what is required to thrive and succeed. Don’t limit yourself to past failures or even successes for that matter. Go out every day and make your presence on the earth count.
In one word, describe your life as an entrepreneur.
DETERMINED