Varsity Don, Familoni urges govt to reduce  interest rate for SMEs

THE importance of capacity building cannot be overemphasized. Hence, there is a need for training and retraining for every leader that wants to remain relevant in his or her sphere of business.

It is against this backdrop that various professionals such as engineers, business executives, legal practitioners, medical executives, IT experts, human resources managers, bank executives, accountants and others gathered in Victoria Island, Lagos for a three-day entrepreneurial leadership  training.

Speaking at the training, a professor of Entrepreneurship and Management Strategy, Prof.  Olajumoke Familoni, who is the founder and Chairman of International Centre for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development (ICLED), urged the government to reduce  interest rate for businesses to thrive.

Prof. Familoni maintained that a high interest rate would increase the cost of borrowing.

The Executive Director of Global Professor Forum in the USA and member of think tank of Global Business and International Institute, Madrid, Spain, stressed the need for flexible policies that can make private investors survive. The Don urged the government to make data available for them and updating them with new information. She stressed the need for synergies between entrepreneurs and the government.

Speaking on the qualities entrepreneurial leaders must possess, Familoni said  they must have skills to process the risk, learn fast, change with ambiquity and use new techniques because the times are uncertain and chaotic.

Speaking further at the entrepreneurial leadership training which was organized  by ICLED in conjunction with University of Salamanca, Spain, the professor hinted that ICLED, a 15-year-old organization  collaborated with University of Salamanca, Spain for a cutting edge business training for business executives. It was the first cohort.

She added that the cohort was practical and engaging with  faculties from topnotch universities in the world such as Harvard and others.

The programme involved case studies of successful entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Aliko Dangote, evaluation, brainstorming, exchange of ideas and others.

Others included  a cocktail networking  session where participants shared their experiences and told their success stories in their various businesses, real life experience and how they started their businesses.

Participants at the programme who spoke with journalists expressed happiness for taking part in the training.

A Branch Leader of Fidelity Bank, Mr. Chris Ibe-Lamberts, said the training was very wonderful and rewarding.  Ibe-Lamberts said he would have ownership concept by seeing  his branch as his business and ensure that it succeeds, saying if a branch leader has an ownership concept, the business would succeed.

He added that the training would help him to excel in any leadership role he found himself in the future, saying life does not end in the bank industry.

He highlighted some of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs to include unfriendly  environment, funding, lack of experience and knowledge ,

He emphasized that entrepreneurs ought to have an understanding of what they want to do and have a knowledge   in the business they want to venture into.

On her part, Mrs Temitayo Oladejo,
Head of Human Resources and Administration of Information Connectivity Solutions Limited who highlighted  qualities of good entrepreneurial leaders,  said they must be focused, visionary, adaptive to  change,more innovative and intelligent.

She added that  entrepreneurial leaders must  be content creators, calculative risk takers,  goal getters and running the business at a profit.

The human capital expert equally urged the government to support SMEs and encourage them in funding.

Speaking on her experience during the training, Mrs. Oladejo  noted that the methodology is unique. Adding that :”No pressure. Everybody is contributing. It is learning the same thing in different ways”.

Oladejo  said she would pass the knowledge to those working with her.

While  emphasizing the need to provide premium services for customers in order to sustain a business venture, she urged those who play managerial role not to get drunk with power but delegate more.