Student Technopreneurs Develop Digital Market Solution for Students Enterprises, Practical Production Sales at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic

By: Damilare Adebesin

In a move that further demonstrates the capability of Nigerian youths to profer home-grown solutions to real and existing problems within the campus business ecosystem, a group of young technopreneurship students have launched the first ever digital market place Application for students enterprises at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports as gathered that the pilot digital market solution was. conceived by the group of National Diploma (ND) students as their practical entrepreneurship project under the supervision of the Coordinator, Training, Extension Services and Consultancy, (TEC), at the institution's Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (MAPCED), Mr. Olufemi Orunsola and an in-house technopreneurship expert and facilitator at the Centre, Mr. Ola Adeyemi.

In an exclusive chat with OTN News, the leader of the group, Damilola Joseph Adebanjo said, his clear understanding of the need to deploy the knowledge acquired from entrepreneurship classes to solve a real problem faced by students was part of the primary sources of inspiration to undertake the project.

"As a student of Computer Science who has acquired technical tech skills, seeing entrepreneurship students hawking their finished practical productions around the campus did not just sit down well with my tech-savvy mindset. My group decided to provide this App to enable our fellow students to sell their products from the comfort of their hostels," the young technopreneur said.

Responding to a question on the acceptability of the innovation among the students populace, Adebanjo said, "The student population at MAPOLY (Moshood Abiola Polytechnic) has generally responded positively to the innovation. Many students have shown interest and appreciation because the solution addresses real challenges they face in their academic and daily campus activities. Feedback gathered through discussions and informal surveys indicates that students find the innovation useful, convenient, and relevant to their needs."

He further added that his group of young technopreneurs have been highly encouraged and supported by the response of the Directorate of the Centre for Entrepreneurship led by Arc Dr.Olabisi Baiyewu, as well as the lecturers at the Department of Computer Science, especially the Head of Department, Dr.Biodun Orunsolu, who co-opted him as a Research Assistant on major on-going TETFUND research project on Smart Enterprise Development for the institution.

On the next level of their technopreneurship project, Adebanjo expressed strong confidence that he and his group are poised to explore creative and innovative partnerships to solve more problems for the larger society using the time we have spent at MAPOLY as a strong foundation that prepares us for greater achievements ahead. The knowledge, discipline, and experience gained during our National Diploma programme will serve as stepping stones toward a successful and fulfilling future."

In his words, "After completing our National Diploma studies at MAPOLY, I believe the future holds significant opportunities for growth, advancement, and impact." 

"By God's grace, we shall improve upon our professional qualifications, moving beyond academics to build a strong career in technopreneurship, gaining more practical experiences, developing more relevant industry skills, and staying updated with industry trends via possible internships, certifications, and professional development programnes that will make us more competitive in the entrepreneurship landscape."

MAPOLY MARKET PLACE(MMP) is a pilot digital market place solution geared towards enabling entrepreneurship students to explore and exploit the benefits of digital initiatives to make sales of products produced by students to other students across all Departments within the campus seamless and less stress-less.

Operationally, the App interface allows student entrepreneurs to sign up to the service and upload their products, connecting them to a ready market of students who can purchase from them and get the goods delivered to them within the campus in real time while the registered seller gets paid immediately in their account without lifting a finger beyond the production previously undertaken.

In essence, the MMP App simply connects buyers with sellers seamlessly at reasonable 10% commission automatically deducted to the technopreneurs' account as running costs, which ultimately adds up as enterprise profit for the operators of the App. 

Commenting on the development, the practical supervisor of the group of young entrepreneurs, Mr. Olufemi Orunsola, explained that the innovative solution, which aligns with an ongoing research that has taken members of the research team on a trip to Covenant University, Ota to broaden horizons on how best to deliver Smart Enterprise Development at the institution's Entrepreneurship Development Centre.