Every year, Enterprise Development Centre brings together her members, other SMEs alike, stakeholders both in the public and private sector to meet and discuss contemporary issues affecting the Small Growing Businesses in Nigeria. This networking event provides a forum that strengthens the entrepreneurial space and contributes largely to the continuous development of the SME ecosystem.

This learning and sharing event features solutions to mutual SME challenges, networking, and plenaries sessions on topical issues with seasoned intellectuals and entrepreneurs.

Keynote Speaker. Prof Pat Utomi
A fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria and founding Senior Faculty of the Lagos Business School -Pan African University, he was Director of The Centre For Applied Economics at the Lagos Business School. He has served in Senior positions in government, as an Adviser to the President of Nigeria; the Private Sector, as Chief Operating Officer for Volkswagen of Nigeria, and in academia. His academic background covers a range from Policy Economics, Business Administration, and Political Science to Mass Communication. As an entrepreneur he has founded or co-founded companies that are active in fields including financial services, ICT, Media and Agriculture. Appointed Professor of the Social and Political Economy Environment of Business, the pioneer Entrepreneurship teacher at LBS has been a scholar-in-residence at the Harvard Business School and the American University in Washington DC. As leader of Civil Society, he is the founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership; The Widow Support Centre and the Concerned Professionals, which was bulwark against-military oppression, among numerous other social enterprise initiatives

Guest Speaker. Dr Cosmos Maduka
Dr. Cosmas M. Maduka is the Founder, President/CEO of Coscharis Group. He started Coscharis Motors as one man business and over the years has transformed the organization into an indigenous conglomerate with diverse interest in manufacturing, ICT, Petrochemicals, Autoc are and auto components , automobile sales and services , Agric and Agro Allied Business . Through his visionary leadership, Coscharis group has secured sole franchise of BMW, Rolls Royce and Jaguar Land Rover premium brands and Abro USA Auto care and consumer products. Coscharis is also a very strong partner for distribution As a Businessman; Dr. Maduka contributed immensely towards the growth and development of the nation. He is an industrialist and philanthropist of great repute. He is currently serving on the board of many companies; notable among them are CG-Eko LLP, First System Refinishes Limited, CG Biostadt Limited, Sixt Rentals Nigeria

Ifeyinwa Ighodalo is the founder of DO.11 Designs, a furniture making and interior decoration company. Her passion and love of interiors helped grow Design Options and established the brand as the preferred choice and one-stop shop for furniture and interior design in Nigeria. Ifeyinwa possesses a strong continuous improvement culture and always strives to deliver exacting quality. Her special skills include Coordination and Facilitation, Customer Relationship Management and Project Management. In addition to the 2012 Best Residential Designer Award, Ifeyinwa has been honoured with the St Moritz Style Woman of the year Award 2004. She is also the proud recipient of the prestigious International Women Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) 2010 Award, a global initiative supported by the US Department of State.

Mr. Raphael Afaedor (CEO Supermart)
Twitter - @kofiafaedor
Raphael is the Co-Founder and CEO of Supermart, a grocery delivery service based in Lagos, Nigeria. He attended Presbyterian School, Legon, Accra. He is a polyglot, speaking Czech, Ewe, French, Ga, Spanish and Twi fluently. This rich background was obtained because he schooled in the Czech Republic and Switzerland, amassing three degrees before proceeding to the Harvard Business School in 2007 and bagging his second MBA. His path features stops at Monster.com, Goldman Sachs, Notore Chemical Industries and the Sestaya Group before co-founding QluQlu, as well as Jumia.


Senator Babajide Omoworare (National Assembly)
Twitter - @jideomoworare
Christopher Omoworare Babajide is a Nigerian politician who was elected Senator for the Osun East constituency of Osun State, Nigeria in the April 2011 and March 28 2015 elections. Omoworare attended graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Law in 1989. He went on to the Nigeria Law School, Lagos, and was called to the Nigeria Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1990. He also obtained a Masters in Law from the University of Lagos. Omoworare started work with the Lagos law firm of Babalakin & Co. 1991. He became a Notary Public and left Babalakin and Co. in 1998, when he started his own law firm Omoworare & Co., and decided to enter politics.

Mrs. Mary Akpabome (ED, Heritage Bank)
Mary Akpabome is an Executive Director at Heritage Bank. She is a well decorated banking veteran with several medals under her belt including the prestigious Certificate of Recognition for her leadership and contribution to the advancement of Nigeria by Nigeria Professional International (NIPRO) plus an outstanding regional director award. She has other professional certificates earned from prestigious institutions including The Lagos Business School, Institute of Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland and the European Marketing Research Centre, Brussels; to name a few.

Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere (Ijewere & Co)
Mr. Emmanuel I. Ijewere is one of Nigeria’s most eminent businessmen with extensive experience and interests across the banking, finance and agricultural spectrums. He is a past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), the Institute of Directors (IOD), and the Nigerian Red Cross. His Chairmanships and Directorships are numerous: Best Foods Group, Drum Resources Nigeria Limited, Apel Capital & Trust Limited, Countrywide Direct Mortgage Company, Kerildbert Holdings, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) and Gemini Pharmaceuticals. He was past Chairman of Longman Nigeria PLC, Petra Microfinance Bank, Salus Health Trust Management and CSN Investment Concepts Limited being just a few.

Ms. Ebi Atawodi (GM Uber.com)
Twitter - @ebiatawodi
Ebi Atawodi is the General Manager of Uber Lagos. The Imperial College of London alumnus has over a decade of marketing communications, brand strategy, digital/new media, product activation, brand amplification and corporate sponsorships experience. Also, she previously worked as the head of corporate communications at telecoms bigwig, Etisalat.