By Maryam Adejoke Bamiro
* Experts urge women to embrace strategic planning, digital marketing and reinvestment for sustainable growth
The Entrepreneur Organ of Al-Mu’minaat (The Believing Women) Organisation, Lagos State, has graduated 170 women from 11 local governments, with experts at its annual entrepreneurship seminar urging participants to embrace strategic planning, digital tools and sound financial management for sustainable business growth.
The charge was made at the organisation’s Annual State Entrepreneur Seminar, held on Sunday, September 28, at the Dawah Centre, TMC Street, Ijesha, Surulere, Lagos, with the theme, “Sustainable Prosperity: Women Entrepreneurs Driving Innovation, Growth and National Development.”
The seminar combined entrepreneurship training with the graduation and certificate presentation for women drawn from Surulere, Ikeja, Badagry, Shomolu, Ikorodu North, Ado Odo/Ota, Igbogbo-Bayeku, Alimosho, Eti Osa, Mushin and Kosofe.
Plan before scaling, Opeifa tells entrepreneurs
In her welcome address, the Entrepreneur Head, Hajiya Fauziyels Taino Abdulfatai, welcomed the guests and participants to the seminar and congratulated the graduands on completing the entrepreneurship programme.
She said the programme was designed to equip women with practical knowledge and skills needed to build sustainable enterprises.
Delivering the first lecture, “From Small Business to Sustainable Enterprise: Strategies for Long-Term Growth,” the CEO/Founder of Ushaa Luxury, Hajia Husseinat Habeebullah Opeifa, said entrepreneurs must move beyond merely starting businesses to deliberately planning for growth.
“Growing a small business to a big enterprise doesn’t happen by prayer but by effort and planning,” Opeifa said.
“In order to be able to scale, you need planning and a roadmap. Everything you embark on, you must have a plan,” she added.
She identified profit, survival and motivation as some of the reasons people venture into business, urging entrepreneurs who desire long-term wealth to have a clear purpose and direction.
According to her, entrepreneurs must also develop a growth mindset, maintain proper financial records, retain customers, seek mentors and continually improve their knowledge.
“You don’t start a business for immediate gratification. It takes time, planning and good mindsets,” she said.
Opeifa also advised participants to distinguish between money meant for immediate needs and money that should be reinvested in their businesses.
She described the approach as the “bread and seed” concept, with the bread representing money for spending and the seed representing funds reserved for future growth.
Durodola urges entrepreneurs to take businesses digital
The second lecture, “Innovation, Digital Tools and Market Expansion for Women Entrepreneurs,” was delivered by the Co-founder of Ascent Tech Hub, Mr Abdulhadi Durodola, who used his marketing playbook, From the Streets to the Digital World, to demonstrate how small businesses can expand their reach.
Durodola said marketing should not be viewed simply as advertising, but as a tool for connecting businesses with customers and creating opportunities.
“Marketing connects people, products and opportunities,” he said.
He urged entrepreneurs to understand the journey customers take from discovering a product to making a purchase and eventually becoming repeat customers.
“Simple strategy plus real people equals bigger possibilities,” he said, stressing the need for businesses to adapt their marketing strategies to their customers and operating environment.
Ten channels for business growth
Durodola highlighted 10 marketing channels that entrepreneurs can deploy according to their business needs: brand marketing, design and creative, content marketing, social media marketing, video marketing, influencer marketing, search engine marketing, e-commerce and marketplaces, email marketing and automation, and public relations.
He explained that the channels could help businesses build trust, communicate their value, reach new customers, improve online visibility, facilitate purchases, retain existing customers and establish credibility.
He, however, advised entrepreneurs to focus on the channels most relevant to their businesses rather than attempting to use every platform.
According to him, sustainable marketing requires getting the right message to the right audience through the right channels with the right strategy.
Graduands excited over new skills
The graduands expressed excitement over the knowledge and practical skills acquired during the programme, with some telling Muslim News how the training had changed their approach to business.
One of the graduands, Aisha Oluwashigola Bint Islam from Igbogbo-Bayeku, Ikorodu, said the training had taught her that acquired knowledge should not remain unused after graduation.
She said her key takeaways included starting small, having a clear business plan and establishing a definite mission and vision for the direction of her business.
Aisha identified artificial intelligence (AI) training as one of the major benefits of the programme, saying it had changed how she produces promotional materials for her business.
According to her, she previously depended on her children or commercial printers to design her promotional flyers, a process that often involved waiting for long periods.
“Now, with AI, I can design my flyers myself within 30 minutes,” she said.
She added that her immediate goal was to acquire her own printer so she could print her promotional materials without depending on external printing services.
Another graduand, Sumayah Doduola, from Ikere Local Government Area, said she joined the programme to acquire practical skills in catering, AI marketing and the production of household items such as liquid toilet cleaner.
She identified catering, liquid toilet-cleaner formulation and AI-assisted business branding among the most valuable skills she acquired during the training.
Doduola said the AI training was particularly impressive because she discovered that she could independently create branding materials for her business without having to hire a graphic designer.
She said she previously relied on her children or external printers to produce promotional flyers, often having to wait and make follow-ups, but could now design a flyer within about 30 minutes.
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Her immediate business goal, she added, was to acquire a printer to reduce her dependence on external printing services.
Amirah urges graduands to put lessons into practice
The Amirah of Al-Mu’minaat, Lagos State, Hajia Balqis Abdullah, congratulated the graduands and urged them to translate the knowledge and skills acquired during the programme into practical business activities.
She encouraged them not to allow the training to end with the presentation of certificates, but to apply the lessons in building and improving their enterprises.
170 women receive certificates
The seminar ended with the presentation of certificates to 170 graduands, with Igbogbo-Bayeku recording the highest number among the 11 local governments represented.
Among those in attendance were National Entrepreneur Officer, Hajia Muinat Shittu-Salako; National Da’wah Officer, Hajia Aminat Folorunsho; Hajiya Zulfar Gbadamosi; Hajiya Toheeba Oyelaja; Hajiya Serifat Akinyele; Hajiya Sururah Ishola, among others.
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