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BUSINESS DAY
Friday 24 August 2018
Nneamaka Anyanwu encouraging the participation of young girls in basketball
Temitope Olukoya your personal transport at your service
Kemi Ajumobi
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Kemi Ajumobi
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emitope Olukoya is the CEO of Personal Transport Sales and Services. She is from Ogun State, and the second child among 5 children. She studied Philosophy at University of Lagos. “I never worked for anyone before, I started off buying and selling anything I feel will sell. I didn’t have a focus. I was trying to find my part. With consistent research, I was able to build business contacts abroad and usually buy things for people on request.” She said. Temitope further tried clothing business but was not satisfied with the money she was making so she kept sourcing for unique products to sell. Then Hoverboard came and a friend told her about it. She sourced for it and she ordered 4 Hoverboards for people on request. She turned her profit over and being the first to do the business in Lagos, she was selling fast with consistent marketing. “I was able to raise enough capital to expand. I sold on Instagram with my personal page and at a point, I knew this is my line, this is my part, there is a future here. I looked for a name to call the business. I picked a name that won’t limit me just incase Hoverboard stops trending. So my friend and I came up with Personal Transport. I opened a page and registered the company and from there I started sourcing for more rides and focused on leisure rides. Personal Transport just clocked three years, from four Hoverboards, consistent marketing, dedication, focus, setting priorities right, I am where I am today and still striving for greater heights” Temitope says. Types of rides We have variety of rides, some are quite affordable and some are on the high side. It all depends on what our clients can afford. Challenges The challenges I have in business is with Cargo/logistics in general in Nigeria. We import our product by sea and sometimes consignments are delayed in terms of clearing at the Nigerian port. We try to plan ahead of time ahead just in case there is delay. We don’t want a situation it is festive period and our products gets stranded at the port. We also send goods to clients across Nigeria and the logistics we use are quite effective but occasionally delay may arise due to unforeseen circumstances. Response from customers We have good response from Nigerians especially when it comes to trust. People are always sceptical when it comes to “payment before delivery” but for us, our clients don’t even ask, they just trust us and pay. I think it’s because of my transparency on social media. I don’t only advertise the products but I advertise all the process from container arrival, assembling, I show my office, I make videos always, I model myself, I motivate my online followers, I tell my story, I connect with my social media followers. I also think being a lady showcasing her hard-work contributes to the warm acceptance in the market. Products We have so many products for kids and adults. The fastest selling products are cars for little kids. For kids we have Ride on kids cars, Electric Bikes, Scooters, Go kart, Dirt Bike, Drifting Bikes and so on. For adults, we have Harley Motorbike, Quad Bike, Go kart, Dirt Bike and lots more. We just introduced electronic wheel chairs for special people. We are also planning to introduce the fastest tricycle in the world for adults. We have leisure rides for all age range from a baby that can sit, even if the child can’t ride, the parent can use remote control to control movement for the child. For adults, we have four wheelers that is easy to ride and two wheelers. For special people or aged people, we have electronic wheel chair. We have something for everyone. Clients My clients are mostly parents buying something for their kids or fathers who need the adult’s rides for their leisure time. Projection for your business I see my business having showrooms across the nation in a few years. We are currently looking into Abuja and hopefully by God’s Grace we will accomplish it. Parting shot To all upcoming Entrepreneurs, you can start small and grow like I did. Stay consistent, hardworking, dedicated and always set your priorities right. Most importantly be trustworthy and transparent, don’t involve yourself with anything negative that will hinder your blessings.
Orji to be honoured at Street Style festival Desmond Okon
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vonne Orji, Nigerian-American actress will be honoured at the Essence Street Style festival coming up in September this year. She will be honoured alongside celebrity chef and music superstar Kelis and lifestyle influencer and Youtube star Kellie Brown. Yvonne Orji is a Nigerian-American actress best known for her role as Molly in the HBO series “Insecure” Orji was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, and grew up in Maryland, US. The style festival will be hosted by actress and comedienne Amanda Seales in Brooklyn, New York and will feature performances by Nigeria’s “Afrobeat Queen” Yemi Alade, and R&B songstress Teyana Taylor. The event which intends to celebrate fashion also presents an opportunity to discover new brands at the Street Style shops, meet with and greet Essence editors and style experts, as well as experience the Essence Eats food zone which will be featuring local food trucks. Essence is a monthly magazine for African-American women between the ages of 18 and 49.
Women’s Hub 5
neamaka (Maka) Anyanwu holds a BS degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a minor in Development Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. She later attended Business School, in which she received a Master’s Degree in International Business Management from Kingston University, London, United Kingdom. She is a former Division 1 Basketball player, Maka played for Cal State Fullerton University and Cornell University. In Brooklyn, NY, she was Assistant Coach at Sheepshead Bay High School, for the Boys Basketball Team during the 2012-2013 seasons. She has also coached in camps and clinics throughout her collegiate career in Ithaca, NY, Oakland, CA and Vincennes, IN. Nneamaka has an extensive background working with NGOs over the past 7 years. She started her experience with City Year New York, and served as a Corps Member empowering underperforming, at risk youth through education. She helped them to bridge the educational gap through hard work and dedication. Nneamaka also mentored and guided her students through their internal and external challenges. Next, she led Kechie’s Project as Program Director, an NGO that focuses on empowering young girls through education in Harlem, New York and Nigeria. Later, Nneamaka joined the historical Catholic Charities, New York, in which she was Purchasing Associate. Her work consisted of procurement, finance and administrative duties. She was responsible for overseeing contracts of over 200 programs within the organization. Lastly, she was instrumental in the start-up of Semperfi Childcare Initiative, Lagos, an NGO that provides education and healthcare assistance to indigent students in Nigeria. Her role as Chief Executive Officer enabled her to understand the challenges NGOs face in Nigeria. Her passion for service has proven impeccable. For Nneamaka, this is just the beginning. Girls Basketball Champions Series is a year round initiative that will have multiple sessions throughout the year.
Reason for the initiative I have dedicated my years to serving others and when I moved to Nigeria, I noticed a big gap in female empowerment and girls’ basketball. Therefore, I decided to start my first initiative that serves the underprivileged girl-child. I realized I could be doing so many other things, like working in Corporate America, but I decided life is more fulfilling when giving back to others. With, Girls Basketball Champions Series, I hope to build up future female leaders and empower them through basketball, education and service. My goal is to use the organisation to build up improvised communities through the work of the girls. I also want to give the girls international exposure and opportunities to live out their basketball dreams. What are the dates of the program? What happens when the program is over? Girls Basketball Champions Series is a year round initiative that will have multiple sessions throughout the year. The sessions are as follows: Two Day Clinic Launch: August 31st and September, 1st, 2018 Session 1: September 4th- September, 29th 2018 Session 2: October 23rd - November 23rd, 2018 Session 3: January 15th – February 16th, 2019 Session 4: March 5th – April 6th, 2019 Session 5: May 7th to June 1th, 2019 Summer Camp: TBA The following academic year 2019-2020 will have similar dates, the program is designed to parallel the academic school year. There will also be summer camps that will be announced in the near future. How can they participate and what is the age range? We are looking for girls ages 11-17 to participate in our clinic launch and to join our program. They can register online at SGELITE.ORG, it will take them less than 5 minutes to fill out the
questionnaire. Worthy of mention Girls Basketball Champion Series goes beyond basketball we are empowering the girls to become future leaders. We will teach them the value of serving and reaching out to improvised communities. They will have mentors, academic tutors, coaches and staff building them up to be respectable young ladies. We need the community to support the initiative, an initiative driven by sound principles and integrity. The’ Girl Champion’ is the future. We need support from the community, public and private sector, and Nigerian Basketball Federation.