The programme was powered by the Covenant Christian centre and held concurrently in Lagos Island (10.1) and Ikeja (10.2), all in Lagos on Independence Day. The theme of the platform 10.1 was titled “pragmatic steps to moving Nigeria forward- how understanding and building the right institution is driving the growth of nations”. The speakers were; Anne-Marie Slaughter, Prof Yemi Osinbanjo, Mrs Oluremi Oyo, Prof. Anil Gupta, Olusegun Adeniyi and Khanna Parag.
I attended the platform 10.2 held at the Haven Centre, Ikeja and it was brain-rebooting.lol The theme of the platform 10.2 was titled “understanding the new global economy: how the internet, social media and technology is driving business and entrpreneurship”
Jedi (the Nigerian comedian) MC’d the event and 6 great minds from Nigeria and around the world spoke on various inspiring topics.
They speakers were;
• Magatte Wade @magattew
• Lawrence Watkins @lawrencewatkins
• Moses Kemibaro @ moseskemibaro
• Stephen Newton @smamca
• Francis Ebuehi @ebufa
• Chika Nwobi @chikanwobi
Follow them on twitter…… also follow me @[url]jobseekerscreed[/url] to get more materials
Summary of topics;
1. Magatte Wade spoke about the coke and Fanta mentality. Africans are so in love with western product that our local substitute can’t compete a, hence our culture isn’t represented globally. Imagine china producing our “aso ebi” fabrics? tufiakwa!!!!! America is a world power because its products are consumed around the world-coke, pepsi, polo, Nike etc We eat, drink, wear and sleep America at the detriment of our economies. The solution is to build brands around our ancestry e.g herbal medicine and use technology to package it and make it world class. If not, our culture will be found only at the museum. A Nigerian guy is making it big viewing nollywood movies on youtube to the world- people pay to watch. Commercialize your culture!
2. Lawrence Watkins spoke on “how to tweet, post and ping your way into entrepreneurship”. Many of us use social media only for chatting and information only, but people are raking in millions of naira via youtube, facebook, twitter etc Do you have more than 500 friends on facebook? C’mon work on that business idea of yours and test it among your friends. Many people are addicted to twitter, facebook and BBM, but not every addiction is bad. So start a business with your online friends as first customers.
3. Moses Kemibaro spoke on “leveraging digital media and marketing for business success”. When you have a business idea or product, it is important to approach your potentials customer “where they spend time”. 67% of Nigerians go online through their phones. So if you have a business to promote, take it to places where your customers are. E.g if you wrote a romance novel, post about it on nairaland romance section. And if you own a website, optimize it for mobile users, because more people connect to the internet via mobile.
4. Stephen Newton spoke on “using social media to grow your business.” social media is not just for fun, its serious business. Did you know that facebooking and tweeting isn’t exactly “free”. You spend so much time online and time is money. Online activity takes valuable time, hence it is not free. No time to check time o!!
5. Francis Ebuehi spoke on “marketing in the new economy”. The traditional channel of marketing and advertising is dying, as less and less people are reading newspaper, catalogues and brochure. In fact the highest selling newspaper in Nigeria doesn’t sell up to 100,000 copies nation-wide. The solution? Advertise your product online using personal websites, classified websites, forums etc There are 44million internet users in Nigeria, 95.2 mobile sims and 5.8 million facebook users. Utilize the internet to your advantage. Do you bake cakes or design dresses, snap your product and post (advertise free) on classified sites and forum…your customers are waiting, so act!
6. Chika Nwobi spoke on “wanna be starting something”. Unemployment is high in Nigeria. Even your job won’t sustain you forever, so startUp a small business. Find a need and meet it, look at existing products and services and improve on them. Don’t waste capital launching a business/product that won’t sell. Before you launch, test the product amongst your friends and family, if they like it…..then the public might like it too. Did you know that even God test things before launching.lol Note: God didn’t create 7 million humans at once; instead he created Adam and Eve first. He didn’t create the nation of Israel out of everyone around at that time, but choose only Abraham. Finally he tested David with a lion and a bear before he faced Goliath.
On your way to success, seek hungry (enthusiastic), humble and honest people. Avoid “excuse giving leeches” and “corrupt road blockers”.
Thanks for reading.
Twitter handles: @[url]jobseekerscreed[/url] @[url]theplatformng[/url]

Inspiring!

I've just recieved mp3s of #ThePlatform10.2 lecture topics. Follow me on twitter @jobseekerscreed and tweet about me to your tweeps to get a copy. @jobseekerscreed