The Entrepreneurial Revolution: A Solution for Poverty Eradication

The Entrepreneurial Revolution

A Solution for Poverty Eradication

Peter Osalor

Contents

PREFACE

FOREWORD

FOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION:

CHAPTER TWO

AFRICA’S ECONOMIC HISTORY AND ASPIRATIONS

CHAPTER THREE

NIGERIA’S ECONOMY AND ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER FOUR

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND GLOBAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY FROM THE CRASH OF 2008

CHAPTER FIVE

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFRICA’S ENTREPRENEURS

CHAPTER SIX

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION: THE WAY FORWARD FOR NIGERIA

CHAPTER SEVEN

BUILDING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION AND ERADICATING POVERTY: A SECTORAL ANALYSIS

CHAPTER EIGHT

JOIN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION TO ERADICATE POVERTY

PREFACE

If it is going to happen, it is up to you. Accept responsibility for your life.

- Anonymous

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing tobe waitedfor; it is a thing tobe achieved.

Jeremy Kitson

My Life’s Journey and Motivation

I was born into a family of sixin the mid-1950's in Warri, DeltaState,Nigeria.Welivedinamudhousewheretherewasnoelectricity and it was difficult to access drinkable water. My fatherwas always in and out of menial jobs and at times, it was challenging for us to get a decent meal to eat. From an early age, I began to fendfor my family by going to the water side to collect firewood to sell.Unlike us, neighbours and friends did not have to struggle to eat,some took their security to ready available food for granted and theirparents would even discipline them or buy them multivitamins whenthey refused to eat.

I quickly realised that knowledge was key and began to dig deep, as I wanted to satisfy my growing curiosity on the big social differencesin society. Why where some living in affluence and others in abjectpoverty?Ihadtastedpovertyandhatedit.Itwasthishatethat fuelled my choice to live a life dedicated to finding out exactly whythe world works the way it does.

I went to college as a house boy to a teacher because we could notafford to pay the school fees and that was the best the college coulddoforme.AftercollegeIwenttoworkforPanalpinaWorldTransportation Company in Kano.I bought a house for my motherandestablishedahotelforher.ThenIboughtataxi,startedataxi firm and began to buy more vehicles,however I was not satisfiedwith my level of knowledge.I wanted more.I wanted to become aglobal entrepreneur, not merely a local one. I left for Britain in 1983,where I studied accountancy. While there, I took exams to become an accountant and began to apply the knowledge I acquired to variousbusinesses.   By 1991 I was a chartered accountant and a charteredtax advisor. As I was investing in my global education in Britain, my wife and I bought two shops in 1995 but had to sell them by 1999 inorder to fight bankruptcy. In 2000, we established East London ITEC an IT and accountancy training institute. From 2001-3, I establishedbranches of Peter Osalor and Co. in Port Harcourt, Warri, Yenagoa,and Lagos.

We truly became a multinational global enterprise.Believing I could make a difference of the state of affairs in Nigeria, I ran for governor of Delta state in 2007 but was not elected. Throughout my entirejourney, I have gained extensive experience in teaching, accounting,management, capacity and business building. Over time, I began tonotice the consistent, predictable patterns and principles that appearto accompany and govern all business and career success. The mostimportant of these principles is having an entrepreneurial attitude.This is what I aim to teach within the pages of this book. It is mydesiretoguideandmentoryoutoyourpathofbecomingasuccessful entrepreneur.

My purpose in life has been the same for more than thirty years. It isto liberate the in-built potentials of individuals by giving them ideasand strategies to fast-track the benefits and rewards they can achieveas successful entrepreneurs. I intend to motivate people by makingthemrealisethatsuccessisachoicetheyhavetomakeandANYBODY CAN BE SUCCESSFUL if theychoose tobe.

Putting into practice my vision for entrepreneurial development inAfrica, I have established several initiatives:

•        I have established Success in Your Business, a UKregistered charity working in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria, committed to eradicating povertyby empowering citizens with the right skills and throughthe development of an entrepreneurial spirit.

•        I have an on-line TV program

•        As part of my awareness creation strategy forentrepreneurship, I run a weekly TV program calledSuccess in Your Business on African IndependentTelevision, Abuja. A program formerly aired on Ben TV London, NTA Warri and Port-Harcourt.

•        I amthe CEO of Posag Consulting - a financialconsultancy and business advisory service provider with offices in Nigeria, the United States of America andEurope.

•        I have a business blog site

•        I am a regular columnist for the Vanguard Newspaper,commenting on the Nigerian economy and policy needs.

•        I am a founding member of the African and Nigerian Entrepreneurs.com

•        I am a regular and proactive author in enzinesarticles.com

Africa’s Way Forward

I believe that the present poverty and conflict in Africa as a wholeand, specifically, in Nigeria can be significantly reduced by growingthe numbers and strengthening the capabilities of local entrepreneurswhopursuethebusinessopportunitiesavailabletothem.Thisentrepreneurialdevelopmentwillgenerateself-employmentandgrowthelabourmarket,helpingtoalleviatepovertyandsocialunrest. In order to widen private-sector employment opportunities we must improve the access to rural areas and low income adults andyouth to business development resources; improve the abilities ofentrepreneurs to manage their businesses and market their goods andservices;growagriculture-basedruralbusinessespursuingopportunities for value-added processing; and expand governmentassistance programs for MSMEs. We can do this in the form ofpublic-privateinitiativesofferingbusinesstrainingandsupportservices, including

•        Entrepreneurial Training

•        Accountancy and IT Training

•        Business Start-up and Development

•        Agro-Business Development

•        Micro-financing and Small Business Loans

•        Marketing Support

•        Export Promotion Support

•        Produce storage facilities development

Benefits of these entrepreneurship initiatives will include:

•        Encouraging and supporting women and young entrepreneurs.

•        Increased provision of government services to and regulation of the informal businesssector.

•        Growing rural economic infrastructure and opportunities.

•        Grant fund buy-ins from national and internationaldevelopment agencies and NGOs committed to povertyalleviation, youth's empowerment, private sector business development, fair trade, etc.

•        Enhancing the quality and competitiveness of Nigerian business.

•        Increased capacity to adopt new business technologies.

•        Strengthening the organisational and business linkages between the formal andinformal sectors.

•        Creating and enhancing economic opportunities for school leavers and university and college graduates

This book is written specifically to inspire individuals to start theirownbusinessesandtourgeAfricangovernmentstosupportentrepreneurial development.

FOREWORD

Peter Osalor has in this book 'The Entrepreneurial Revolution: Asolution For Poverty Eradication' boosted the literature and ideas onentrepreneurialstudies.Theauthorwrotehavinginmindtheacademia, students, political, economic and business managers. Hemovedthesubjectmattertoglobal,continentalandnationaldialectics.Thereaderiscarriedonfromunderstandingthedifferences in applied meanings of terms like entrepreneur and"entrepreneurism’’ to historical and economic dynamism of Africa,Nigeriaandtheplaceoftheentrepreneurandoperation,entrepreneurism is securing prosperity and wealth of nations andindividuals.

This book is highly recommended for researchers, policy makers,businessmen and women and for teaching and enriching the syllabusofentrepreneurialstudiesinAfricatertiaryinstitutions.IntheNigerian and African situation the book addressed the challenges ofentrepreneurship, poverty alleviation and the way out of the malady.It also addressed specific enterprises such as fishing, livestock, andagriculture broadly defined. Empowerment methodology for variouspopulations cohorts especially women and youth were also handledby the author.

These are general issues and matters addressed to make the book acompel to read and own in every one’s and institutional libraries.

Prof Park .O. Idisi

Departments of Agricultural Economics and Extension

Economics, University of Abuja

FOREWORD

The economic turbulence in our world today which has made jobsecuritiestobevolatilehasprobablycreatedagroundswellfor interest in business ownership and the expression of entrepreneurialskills.Inspiteofthepresenceofuniversityeducationinourworld for almost 1000 years, no school offered a degree in entrepreneurship untilthe1970s.Inthe70stherewereonly16universitiesthatoffered courses in entrepreneurship in the whole of the USA, today,over1,600do.Priortothat,everycoursedirectedpeopletolearn how to manage a business on behalf of others. There are severalreasons why the ownership of business is preferable to job seeking or the pursuit of employment.

A business gives you the opportunity to take your future in your own hands. Like they say in Latin Carpe Diem seize the moment. Abusiness quite unlike employment can be inherited by your children,therefore giving you the opportunity to create generational blessingsand prosperity for your family. That is why today we see the FordMotor companies, Heinz, Rolls Royce, which was started by Mr.Rolls and Mr. Royce. The examples are endless.The best that cancome out of employment is a salary and a possible pension. Whereas, a business can help you to build equity into the future. At a particular age,thestatutorylawsofemploymentofacountrymakeyourdeparture from gainful employment mandatory. While in your ownbusiness, you can continue torun inyour golden age.

Furthermore, if anything makes the desire to have a business evenmore likable,it will be the fact that you can make a difference inyourworldasyourcompanygetsinvolvedincorporatesocialresponsibilitiesthroughtheuseofitsprofitormoniessetapartto help meet social needs. You are able to provide employment forothers and become part of the solution in your world. We might justrest our argument for business by saying that it helps you to leave alegacy.

However,what is the use havingsucha desire torunbusiness and yet be poorly informed on how, why and which way to run it.

The author of this book, Mr. Peter Osalor takes us into the world ofbusiness by introducing to us four books that can set us in motion tostart, perpetuate and run asuccessful business.

•               Why andHow to start your own business

•               How to prepare a business plan

•               How to identify and fund your business

•              Theentrepreneurialrevolution–asolutionforpoverty eradication.

He brings in a fresh insight on the modalities for starting a businessthatwilllast.Yes,businessesthatwilllastbecause80%ofbusinesses started here in the UK for example fail within 5 years.However, Peter has helped us with the effective steps that can help asuccessful business. He gives us a step by step guide on how toprepare a business plan and how to run it effectively.

Many businesses also die because they do not know how to leverageby seeking for funds that would make such vision run well. Using his training as a chartered Accountant and Tax specialist, Peter helps usto grasp the