Experts task youths on sustainable business intrapreneurs
[FILE] Business
Irked by economic crisis bedeviling businesses in the country, experts have identified reinvention of businesses as key to sustainable intrapreneurship in Nigeria.
Experts who gathered at the Hot Topics Africa forum with the theme: ‘Sustainable business, intrapreneurship and the future of work,’ in Lagos, said intrapreneurship is key to addressing disruption of businesses through technology.
An intrapreneur is a person who takes on the responsibility to create new ideas, products and processes or any new invention within an organization.
Deputy Pro Vice- Chancellor, University of Sussex, Professor Richard Follett, said studies have shown that corporations are becoming increasingly short-lived, thanks to being disrupted by newcomers, adding that with accelerating technological change, innovating becomes critical if companies are to survive.
“Research has shown that the most successful intrapreneurs and innovation-led organisations have supportive cultures and structures, and are connected with external partners in extensive innovation ecosystems, including universities, research institutions, and other companies.”
Prof. Follett admonished youths to take advantage of opportunities that would equip them with skills and make them independent of paid employment when they finish their youth service.
“It is tough being an average unemployed Nigerian, but you have to understand that taking yourself out of that situation is your own responsibility and not the government’s or society’s,” he added.
Also speaking, Head of Sustainability of Access Bank, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, urged youths to strive to become employers of labour, noting that the organisers were clearly poised to achieve that which the country needed most.
While engaging youths to create original products that are unique and competitive, Mrs. Victor-Laniyan said Access Bank is ready to support such creative ideas to any length.
According to her, it is important for youths to develop their emotional intelligence and create proper financial plans that would align with their vision.
“Young people must take action but knowing the right steps to take at every point is key. You must take the first steps in the right direction and ensure that you are consistent with those steps and actions,” she added.
In his own contributions, Project Director, Project Enable, Sola Owonikoko, said the best option was for the youths to target entrepreneurial skills development to enable them become self-reliant.
According to him, it would be difficult for any government to provide employment for the youths going by the teeming number of employable people in the country.
“If the youths are skilled in different vocations, it would not only reduce poverty, but would encourage investment,” he added.
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