As Nigerians struggle with soaring inflation and economic instability, business experts have urged the youths to embrace entrepreneurship to reduce the poverty rate in the country.

They also urged upcoming business owners and entrepreneurs to identify specific problems their skillset can address, and monetize them, as well as build resilience to cope with the many challenges which comes with doing business in Nigeria.

The experts spoke at the SHINE conference for business leaders and owners organised by The Leader Team in Abuja.

With an inflation rate currently at 32.79 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) latest report, and the attendance hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, millions of Nigerians have taken up different mechanisms to survive the seemingly harsh living conditions, including starting up micro small and medium enterprises.

While this decision may have opened up new sets of challenges for young startups and entrepreneurs who intend to scale up their businesses, experts say it may also be an opportunity for young business owners to profit.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference aimed at improving the capacity of young business owners in Nigeria, Executive Director of The Leader Team, Shiloh Karshima, noted that entrepreneurship is key to reducing poverty.

According to her, Nigerians are creating opportunities for themselves and others, but face challenges in accessing resources.

She said:”I feel Nigerians are actually some of the most entrepreneurial people I’ve ever met in my life.

“There’s a lot of creativity in the unofficial spaces, where people are just using pieces of land or doing things that are unexpected and maybe not necessarily registered, but are solving problems in the community, and that’s really inspiring.

“It’s giving them the ability to feed their families and hopefully, one day, other families as well. I think Nigerians are creating opportunities for themselves and others. The challenge is just having the resources.

“So with a big socioeconomic gap, especially in Nigeria, our hope is to be a part of creating change and be a part of helping people succeed in life to make revenue, not only for their own family, but also for families in the community, so that people are thriving, not just surviving.”

Chief Executive Officer of Vertex Agro, Daniel Gemana, encouraged youths to explore agriculture as a business.

According to him, agriculture is not just for sustenance but also a lucrative business globally, noting that Nigeria’s agrarian nature and market demand make it an attractive venture.

His words: A lot of people before now had never thought that agriculture is a business. Agriculture, it is not just for sustaining human life. It is a business, not only in Nigeria, everywhere in the world and farmers are supposed to be much living, much better than any other professional.

So young people going into agriculture is a welcome development, and the demand for agricultural produce is on the increase. Nigeria, being an agrarian nation, we have the land resources and we have the market Europe, US and it’s easier for them to tie up with the buyers of their produce in other countries.

“So I think it’s a good development that the government is encouraging young people to go in, not just to farm it for eating, but to be able to easily get partners outside the country, and then we can have a lot of foreign exchange brought in by the youth

Entrepreneurship and Business Coach, Philip Anthony, on his part advised young entrepreneurs to persevere through tough times.

“I would want to commend every young business leader who has decided to even step out and steer the waters. So I want to really say kudos to all of you out there, and to say that in this tough times, in this inflation that we are going through as a nation, I want to say that it’s temporary, and because it’s temporary, just be honest and continue what you’re doing, even if it’s just one customer that shows up or two, keep going. It’s a very, very hard times for everyone. But just keep going.

“The other way is you can think about how to start diversifying into something small, getting a side job in order to add more liquidity into your company.”