Dr. Ike Abugu, chairman of Council, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), and Managing Director, The Skyward Group, is a group that plies business in technology service, management consulting and international business.

Dr. Ike Abugu

In this interview with Moses Nosike of Saturday Vanguard Business, he  states what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur in the Nigerian business environment, and the challenges involved.
How was your growing-up like?

Well, my growing-up was pleasant and I think I had a remarkable childhood. My father was a teacher and you know that teachers are known to be strict disciplinarians and that also ensured that he paid attention to my education.

So I received very good education and because I had a background in sciences and  I was good at sciences, I actually ended up studying engineering up to a doctorate level. But because of my flair for practical things, I decided to go into technological entrepreneurship.

Yes, I felt that is an area I could actualise myself in the technological industry. But I tell you it was not easy at starting, but I started it out of enthusiasm and curiosity because of passion. I wanted to see how I could practicalise some of the things I studied in science and engineering.

For me, it was not about theory but practical. For instance, I wanted to see how we can use what we studied in electronics to make handsets? How can we use what we studied in Physics to develop solar energy? As a beginner in entrepreneurship, it was difficult, the high turnover of staff. Sometimes, inability to pay rent at a point time was a problem for me.  But thank God we’ve overcome all that and we’re now on the growth path.

To become successful in business, what factors do you consider necessary?
For me, the most important factor in business success is passion for what you’re doing. The vision you have keeps you sleepless. You don’t go into business just the way we understand it. No.

That’s the reason I prefer the word entrepreneurship. You don’t become entrepreneur because you want to make money, no. You become an entrepreneur because there’s a burning desire or passion in you to actualise your dreams and then you ought to have the energy and tenacity to go the whole hug. Tenacity because definitely things are going to be very difficult. You’re also going to have integrity.

You should be able to say your ‘yes’ is yes and your ‘no’ is no. I believe integrity is the key factor if you must succeed in business. Some people think they can make it in business through dubious means. I disagree with that. People should know you for what you are, they should take you for your word.

Of course, it doesn’t mean you’re God, sometimes you can fail, but you need to explain why you’ve failed. Passion, vision, tenacity and your ability to take risk is also critical. You must be able to absolve failure because you must not be winning all the time. The ability to absolve failure, take pressure, in fact is the next step to success.

How did you settle for what you are doing today?
What I’m doing today didn’t come by accident. Today, I’m active in management consulting and technological entrepreneurship. As I said, it’s because I believe that knowledge and technology are the primary source of wealth and I believe also that you can turn knowledge into wealth.

I spent over 20 years of my life studying, from primary school to doctorate degree level. So I believe all these knowledge acquired should be put into practical use.

Today, I have a practical orientation. However, when I got into SMEs issues, I found that SMEs are properly nurtured. That actually is the foundation for economic revolution in this country.

So, I’m not into entrepreneurship for myself only, but also to develop SMEs -helping builders in this sector across the country. It gives me joy seeing young entrepreneurs emerging, building businesses, getting richer and more fulfilled.

Since government can’t provide all the jobs needed, what do you tell applicants seeking employments and not getting one, especially graduate youths?

This is one of  the favourable topics I like most. How to encourage young people to forget about government jobs even in big corporation, and try to set up something on their own. It’s something that I have found to be very important in this country today.

The government as a matter of fact, can’t employ more than 5% of the people that need jobs. Where will the 95% go? Into SMEs. But there is need for government to provide capacity, provide environment for these people to be trained first.

It’s easier for a young graduate to learn about entrepreneurship than an illiterate. Even secondary school certificate holders should be trained, because gone are the days you went into entrepreneurship without training.
Every business has a knowledge base. There’s a minimum body of knowledge you must possess to succeed