Nigerian South African-based technology entrepreneur, Charles Awuzie, has explained how lack of expansion strategies and obsession with daily bread mentality are preventing many young Nigerian and African entrepreneurs from scaling and growing their businesses beyond their countries and the continent.
Awuzie made this known on Friday in Lagos during the second edition of the annual Evolve X Conference themed ‘Building borderless businesses’, hosted by 2014 Miss United Nations and actress, Dr Precious Chikwendu.
Awuzie, founder of Gemsbok Group and convener of the Evolve Conference, in his speech titled ‘Crossing the four types of borders’, narrated how, in 2015 in Johannesburg, an earthquake affected his real estate business and forced him to start thinking about how to make his business borderless, beyond the brick-and-mortar physical settings.
He listed digital, physical, industry, and generational borders as some of the challenges hindering most African businesses from going global.
The convener stated that any businessperson who cannot sacrifice happiness and comfort for something bigger than them cannot transcend their business beyond their local environment.
He stressed that the lack of expansion strategies, cheap profit, and daily-bread mentality is fostered by the inability to think outside the box and that the worst box caging many Nigerians and Africans is the economic box.
“My mission is to stretch someone beyond their comfort zones, to see beyond the challenges of present business realities and open their minds to the potentials of borderless businesses and opportunities,” he added.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the co-host of the conference, Ossai Ilome, stated that within a short time, the Evolve community has become a strong force and movement for change that has transcended borders, cultures, and challenges.
He stressed that the community is committed to building a network of changemakers with the vision to seek mentorship and leverage technology and innovation to build sustainable partnerships, better societies, and borderless businesses.
“We now stand as a dynamic community with volunteers in 24 states in Nigeria and continental chapters in Africa touching lives and societies,” he said.
Mrs Edidiong Amos, founder of The Geo-Initiative, spoke on the benefit of mentors and mentorship in building and growing businesses; Mr Olajide Abiola, CEO of Gidanka, owners of Destination Hotel, spoke on trusting the business and entrepreneurship process; Reverend Father Oluoma John, founder of WOW Catholic and Catholicpay, spoke on thinking outside the box; and Tony Umez, CEO of Zenton, spoke on building borderless businesses through partnerships.
Furthermore, Dr Segun Oshinaga, evangelist and inspirational speaker, spoke on the power of the borderless mind in building borderless businesses; Alyse Sue, the co-founder of the Transhuman Coin (THC), spoke on technology enabling transhuman coin through enhancements in innovation, longevity, and wellbeing; and Heather Li, public relations consultant and founder of The Dot Connector spoke on connecting the dots between the China-Africa startup ecosystem.
A panel session titled ‘Strategies for scaling businesses without borders: Leveraging tech and innovation’, was anchored by Dr. Precious Chikwendu and Ossai Ilome and featured Charles Awuzi, Mr. Olajide Abiola, Reverend Father Oluoma John, Heather Li, Simon Musa, Cyril Ishmael, and Kelechi Amstrong Ameobi.
The panellists spoke extensively on how technology can be a vital tool, an enabler, and a strategy to build borderless businesses in Nigeria and Africa. They added that technology is a tool and that what one uses it for is the substance.
The panellists advised that before leveraging any technology to scale and grow businesses, the user should know what they want to use it for, adding that if the user does not have the basic skills to operate the tool, it will not be useful.
Charles Awuzie, convener of the conference, seized the opportunity to launch the $1 million Africa Tech Fund, a startup fund he leads through a strategic partnership with American Venture Capital.
In the course of the conference, some of the participants pitched their businesses and business ideas.
The organisers of the conference announced that the third edition of the conference will be held in London, United Kingdom, next year in September. The first edition of the Evolve Conference was held in Abuja last September.
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