Business News: "Sustaining Family Business Models Thrives on Integrity, Government Support" Says Solomon Enilolobo, Oluwalogbon Electronics Lead
By: Israel Adeleke
The lead at one of Nigeria’s frontline family-based businesses, Mr. Solomon Enilolobo has stressed that sustaining family based businesses to thrive requires brand integrity and the creation of enabling business environments to thrive for such businesses by the government at all levels.
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that the young entrepreneur who co-founded Medbase Pharmacy made this known while featuring as a guest entrepreneur on a flagship entrepreneurship programme on MAPOLY Radio 99.7 FM Ojere Abeokuta on Thursday.
Mr.Enikolobo, who revealed that he is a proud product of a family-based business model started by his father, affirmed that building and sustaining family-based businesses is possible but requires great passion, determination and significant contributions from the government in terms of creation of enabling environment.
Reflecting on his own trajectory of learning the robes of running a family business, Mr. Enilolobo recalled that most family businesses that fail to become sustainable have failed to involve the children in such businesses, noting that his own father started taking him to the business premises and factories as early as age 7.
"When I was 7 years, I was already following my father to Wire and Cables in Ibadan(Now defunct). By the time I was 12 years old, I was already going to Alaba International market at least twice a week. Whenever I came back from school, I was always reporting to the business. So, it was quite easy to form the mindset of an entrepreneur. Virtually all my siblings are entrepreneurs, except one who is in a corporate career job in the banking sector", he revealed.
On the top three challenges facing businesses in Nigeria, Mr. Enilolobo identified absence of constant power supply, lack of access to finance, inadequate access to market and unfavourable economic policies of government as great challenges.
He noted that only businesses can ultimately solve the problem of unemployment ravaging the country.
He explained that when MSMEs survive and thrive, they scale up and develop capacity, thus providing more employment to people in tens and hundreds, ultimately shrinking the unemployment database of the country.
He further stressed that although the Tinubu-led administration has started to do a lot in terms of tax reforms, economic reforms, provision of single digit loans to small businesses, more can still be done to create a conducive millieu for businesses to thrive.
On strategies for surviving and thriving in the face of challenges posed by the business environment in Nigeria, Mr. Enilolobo who advocated that without power supply problem solved by government businesses incur a lot of avoidable overhead cost that deplete business profitability.
He however counselled business owners to explore the benefits of solar power supply as an alternative despite the initial cost required to set up solar power system, noting that it is an investment that is worth the while in the long term analysis.
Speaking on what the Oluwalogbon Electronics brand has in stock for its numerous customers during the fast approaching yuletide season, Mr. Enilolobo revealed that the brand, as part of moves to appreciate its customers who have been patronising it over the years, is currently giving out gifts to customers who buy products in addition to the introduction of a Mystery Box from which customers who made significant product purchases can pick a ballot that will reveal an item to be won instantly by such customers from a checklist that includes pressing irons, TV sets, refrigerator and other products.
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