Ortmans, who visited Nigeria recently in preparation for the 2024 global entrepreneurship week in November 2024 stated this during the conversion with GEN President event powered by GEN Nigeria.
According to the GEN Global president, “Nigeria has got a lot of assets. It is much harder to build a healthier hyper-performing entrepreneurial ecosystem in a large economy than it is in a smaller economy. This may sound illogical because of so many complexities that the larger your country is the more difficult it can be to make it work.
“We have seen some countries do very well at this in a shorter period of time. We think Nigeria has the right entrepreneurial culture, it has got the size of the economy as a result of some of the other areas that they have grown their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but it has also got the potential as a result of the high population. Therefore, we see an extra-ordinary potential for Nigeria to grow much faster as a startup nation.”
During the fire chat session which featured Ortmans and Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Dr. Nneka Okekearu, he provided solutions on how startups in the country can position to attract funding, create sustainable access to marketing, acquire training and coaching as well as source for talent.
Speaking on the GEN Nigeria collaboration with government agencies, Managing Director, GEN Nigeria, Dr. Olawale Anifowose said: “GEN Nigeria is in partnership with government agencies responsible for supporting SMEs. We have strategic partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Bank of Industry (BOI) and Development Bank of Nigeria.
