How MTN brought entrepreneurship to Onitsha

The unemployment problem did not just start knocking on the doors of millions of Nigerians. It started on a snail pace, over the years, creeping past the notice of everyone until like a cancer, it became too visible to be ignored. Those who were not prepared for what the future held, after graduating from tertiary institutions, were caught off-guard by the harsh reality which hit them in the face, meaning that there is no job until you create one yourself.

So, when MTN decided to take the MTN Link Forum, its youth-oriented business initiative to Onitsha, the largest commercial nerve-centre of South-Eastern Nigeria, it was a strategic decision that paid off, in the long run, as thousands of young entrepreneurs thronged the venue.

In this regard, MTN challenged the Igbo entrepreneurs in Onitsha, as one of the nation’s commercial hubs to improve on the knowledge of numerous young men and women who engage in trading and small scale manufacturing, showing them how to avoid some financial losses and managerial mistakes, without going through the pains themselves.

With different speakers, who have accomplished a lot in their journey, as entrepreneurs they inspired the young entrepreneurs, in Onitsha, aiding them to imbibe the virtues of integrity, hard work and honesty as prerequisites for success in business and life generally.

The first Speaker, a seasoned businessman, who started the business of printing with a loan of N7.5 million in Onitsha, Engineer Chukwudi Ejemba, CEO SCOA Heritage, Awka, Anambra State, gave a vivid narration of how he started his business and overcame obstacles.

“Your destiny is in your hands. If you see the end from the beginning, you have captured the dream by visualising; my parents couldn’t afford the basic luxuries of life. Entrepreneurs willing to take the risks and make significant commitments to get a new business off the ground or build on an existing one, must be ready to forfeit luxury at the start. For a lot of reasons, not many Nigerians see running a small business as sufficient or more attractive than working as an employee for some other persons,” Ejemba said.

The Events and Sponsorship Manager, MTN, Okundola Bamgboye, explained: “MTN Link Forum is a value-added platform providing for mentoring support for new and early stage, young and promising entrepreneurs and professionals to network and connect to their dreams”.

MTN Link Forum has, hitherto, brought notable names like Mr. Tonye Ibiema, the Chief Executive Officer, Graftin Entertainment and Security Limited, Mr. Opriebo West, a Chartered Architect and the Director of EST Company Limited, a construction company, based in Port Harcourt and many others, to share their golden-knowledge, at earlier editions of the forum, held in Lagos, Kaduna, Calabar and Port Harcourt.