By Chinyere Anyanwu
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Coscharis Group, Cosmas Maduka, has declared that the future will smile on those who venture into agriculture even as he urged young Nigerians to take their destinies in their hands.
Maduka stated this recently in Lagos at the capacity building workshop organised by the Higher Impact Club (HIC) of Isaiah Wealth Ministries in collaboration with Outdoors and Billboards Nig. Ltd., Premium E Commerce Support Services Ltd., Premium Digital Marketing Academy, Ess Digital and Premium Ess Logistics.
The Coscharis boss, who was the keynote speaker at the event, said based on the World Bank’s postulation that Nigeria’s population will hit 500 million by 2050, bright future awaits agribusiness-minded entrepreneurs who will take it upon themselves to defy the country’s unfriendly business environment to invest in the sector.
He noted that, “agriculture is where the future is in Nigeria. Never did I think I would get into farming. But in 2016 when we saw how this economy was going, we took over 3,000 hectares of land in Anambra State and created a landscape that is unbelievable to people there and today we farm rice from the grassroots of clearing the field, planting the rice, harvesting it and milling it.”
Maduka, who advised the youth-filled audience to be resolute in the pursuit of their visions, said: “What I would ask the young entrepreneurs I’ve met here today to do is to take their destinies in their hands. An entrepreneur is someone who is optimistic, who believes that nobody controls his destiny, not even the government of the state. You have to be clear in your mind where you want to go. The more the country becomes more difficult, the more it becomes clear in your mind where you want to go. That is what distinguishes a truly born entrepreneur from those who are doing it to impress other people.
“Yes, the government can make it a little bit better but it’s not the time to give up but it’s the time to look at the problems and start proffering solutions.”
Also speaking, the HIC International President, Salvation Alibor, who stressed the need for young entrepreneurs to see opportunities in challenges, said, “my charge to everyone is that when you’re hearing of adversity, instead of joining in the complaint, think of the solution to the adversity and you will have money. Now is the time to build your life not the time to complain.”
Alibor further stated that the HIC workshops are often organised “to help our people grow in the business knowledge they need to transform their world. Through these events, we’ve seen people grow their businesses from ideation level to million dollar mark.”
Dr. Innocent Ekeleme, the immediate past president of HIC and one of the facilitators of the event, said the workshop was organised with the aim of “empowering young people with the knowledge and skill set to take their businesses from ground level to great heights.
He said, “with challenges in the economy, there is a need for mentorship. They need to see someone who has taken the step they want to take. There are many constraints in the business environment; the partnership constraint, the financing constraint, the security constraint, among others. So today we brought someone who has gone through the ladders – from N200 to hundreds of millions of dollars – to inspire us and teach us the principles of navigating through the challenging business environment.”