Friday 7 November 2014

HOW I STARTED MY BUSINESS WITH 120.00 NAIRA- CHISCO CEO

When it comes to entrepreneurship, Chief Dr. Chidi Anyaegbu, CEO Chisco group has not only proved himself but has blazed a trail that others can follow. He started out selling Spare parts but with a seed fund of just NGN120, goodwill, a detailed plan and a passion for excellence, Chief Anyaegbu has grown his transport business into the conglomerate, Chisco group having arms in Oil and gas, finance, hospitality, real estate, education, import and export.In the course of his business, he also attended several short Management and Entrepreneurial courses in France, USA, Brazil, Germany, and United Kingdom. He was conferred with a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration (Honoris Causa) by Penn State University, USA in 1996. He is a Fellow, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (International) London and possesses the Business Certificate Award by University of Houston USA.
 
In this interview with Tobi Solarin from Vanguard Spark, this passion-driven entrepreneur shares his perspective on success, business and service to God and humanity which I’ve summed up as follows:
He stated his greatest achievement in life is his God-given opportunity to serve humanity across the globe and what keeps him going is the provision of over 4000 jobs to the Nigerian populace of which the youth segment is a clear majority. He started off with a spare parts business in 1978 and was very successful but the demand for transport and logistics services was overwhelming as cargo would always be stuck for days with no vehicle. Chisco Transport began its pioneer route with Lagos to Onitsha.  Hard work and a keen eye on customer satisfaction allowed the group to grow into supplying services within the hospitality, energy, haulage, courier and automobile sectors. We strive to live to the expectation of our loyal customers by being consistent in delivering quality service. And as for the N120.00 that he started his business with, guess where it came from? N150.00 that his master settled him with in 1978 after serving as an apprentice. So here is what I gained from this article:
  • Before you even think about starting a business or career, acquire the skills you’ll need. Opt for an internship, apprenticeship or training program. It will be time well spent. 
  • Invest in yourself! Everyone is looking for a venture capitalist to come and invest in the dream but do you really think anyone will invest in your dream when you are not willing to do so?
  • Find a profitable business service but make sure it’s something that you absolutely love doing.
  • Your customers are the reason you are making money. Give them the respect attention and dedication they deserve
That’s all from me folks, have a brilliant weekend!
 

INTERSWITCH LAUNCHES A NEW BUSINESS MANAGEMENT PLATFORM IN NIGERIA- SMES TAKE NOTE


Interswitch Transnational, a Pan-African integrated payment company, has launched Retailpay, a mobile business management platform. Retailpay provides growing businesses with the technology to remotely manage and monitor their operations via mobile devices irrespective of location.

Retailpay is an application that allows retailers have access to their business records from any smart device. A statement issued by the company in Lagos gave key features of the new offering to include; sales and inventory management, intelligent business reporting, online store front, records access, staff monitoring, among others.
“This new sales and inventory management solution enables the monitoring and control of stock movements thereby preventing revenue leakages and increasing business profitability. Available via web and mobile, Retailpay is compatible with Windows, Android, Blackberry and Apple iOS devices using Chrome, Firefox and Opera web browsers,”
According to the statement, with the new product, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) can now be equipped with the technology they need to be completely efficient enabling them manage their daily business operations end-to-end.
Group Managing Director, Interswitch Transnational, Mitchell Elegbe, described the system as a revolution in retail business management. He said it was designed in response to identified gaps within the SME space in Nigeria. For more information on this platform click here http://www.interswitchng.com/#RETAILPAY

Article culled from http://businessnews.com.ng/2014/11/07/interswitch-unveils-business-management-platform/

 

JOBS IN NIGERIA ARE NOT SECURE - THIS HAS TO STOP!


Anti-labour practices are rampant nowadays in Nigeria and these practices by employers in their drive for profit maximization will soon turn workplaces across the country into a battle field between workers and business owners if feelers from labour movement are anything to go by. Casualisation, outsourcing, contract staffing and other non-pensionable employment has become the new norm. These are now fashionable practices in all private sectors of the economy; manufacturing, construction, banking, telecommunication, petroleum as well as many public sector establishments.

 Jobs no longer safe

However, like-minded unions and associations affiliated with the All Global Union Federation in Nigeria recently gathered to raise their voice against unfair labour practices in Nigerian workplaces. Affiliates included National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, NUPENG, National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non Metallic Product Employees, NUCFRLANMPE, Petroleum and natural Gas Senior Staff Association, PENGASSAN, and Chemical and Non Metallic Product Senior Staff Association, CANMPSSA.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of African Region of Industrial Union, Comrade Issa Aremu, said jobs in Nigeria were no longer secure as employers opt for short-term, flexible employment as part of strategies to save cost and boost profit. He explained that these developments informed the decision of affiliates of Industrial global union in the country to use the occasion of the ILO’s decent work day to launch the “Stop Precarious Work Campaign.” Low income, job insecurity, delayed payments of salaries and pensions, long hours of work without overtime payment, denial of sick leave and payment for sick leave, denial of annual and maternity leave, job insecurity, lack of redundancy benefits, poor health and safety conditions and non-payment of compensation for injuries sustained at work, poor working conditions, poor motivation, lack of social protection, arbitrary deduction and non-remittance of pension contributions and taxes, denial of rights to join the union and bargain collectively are some of the effects of casualisation and other unethical employment practices currently embraced by employers.”Aremu, also a Vice-President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and General Secretary of NUTGTWN, expressed concern over increasing disregard for the rule of law by several private sector employers, lamenting that violation and open disregard for the law is capable of creating an atmosphere of industrial anarchy and chaos. Speaking on the violation of workers’ rights, Aremu insisted that Nigerian labour laws in spite of the need for review still offer great protection for working class people. He lamented that the progressive laws were being violated with impunity by employers particularly in the private sector as workers were denied the right to organize.

He asked employers of labour to respect the law and where the law is observed in the breach, the Ministry of Labour and other agencies of government should enforce the law. “To the millions of workers subjected to inhuman and un-dignifying employment, we are determined to join forces to embark on unbroken struggle to force recalcitrant employers to respect workers right to join –

Read more at http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/workers-battle-employers-worsening-anti-labour-practices/#sthash.O1nYhDv0.dpuf

Change is on the horizon in Nigeria folks, very soon Nigerian employees will no longer be able to treat workers with impunity knowing that they can and they will get away with it. Proactive workforce planning and setting up of organizational structures will become the new norm. if youd like to sort your office out and don’t know how, send us an email at info@insitefulsolutionsconsult.com and we will help you out

 

Ciao folks