By Brown Chimezie
Businesses that thrive are those that fill a gap. This was according to Somkwe John-Nwosu, the CEO of Credo Consult Limited, a company that clocked 10 years recently.
Using his business as an example, the former banker and holder of an MBA, said: “I realised the massive skills gap in the Nigerian government workforce and the general gap in the management and technical skills in the civil service and then came up with Credo Consults Ltd as a response to this deficiency. We set out to bridge this gap by equipping government employees in Nigeria with the vital knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to drive and implement government policies.”
John-Nwosu avowed that helping small and medium-scale businesses to grow is also part of the gaps targeted by Credo Consult Limited. “We also realized that there is a huge gap in the abilities of people to set up and run businesses successfully. These are the two key areas in which we have found gaps and Credo Consults Limited seeks to solve some of these problems bedeviling business owners as well as government employees and others,” he stated.
Speaking about Credo Consults’ achievements in 10 years, he affirmed: “We have trained over 50 agencies. Over 1000 individuals in over 10 cities, globally and locally, have passed through our training sessions choosing from any of our over 200 flexible courses. To be specific, we have delivered training to top-tier government agencies and parastatals, just as we have also helped businesses access over five billion naira in government interventions and funding through our financial advisory and business planning services.”
Projecting into the future, he said: “We want to become a household name, an institute for training government agencies and have a sort of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between Credo Consults and government. That is the kind of model that we’re looking at creating in the future where there will be a more sustained and elaborate framework that will enable us to train and equip civil servants.”
He also added: “We are about to float Credo Capital that will provide startup funding for micro, small and medium enterprises in Abuja, and other parts of the country. In addition to providing funding and investments, we will also provide some business education and mentorship for budding entrepreneurs.”
On advice to young entrepreneurs, the Credo Consult Limited CEO said: “I want to discountenance this notion of “follow your passion and make money” common among young entrepreneurs. No, you don’t have to follow your passion at an early stage; passion does not bring you all the success but learning the ropes. Focus on solving problems; when you learn how to solve problems, then you can follow your passion.”
He further advised entrepreneurs to do some kind of apprenticeship. Said he: “Get some experience; learn how systems are run, and learn your account management, these are basic skills needed.”
Young entrepreneurs, he also affirmed, have to be tough in the face of challenges, too.
“My experience over these 10 years has a lot of downfalls but we do not relent, but continue to keep doing great and add a lot of mental toughness to deal with disappointment. You have to weather all these negative storms in the journey of entrepreneurship. You need to have a very strong support system, to support you when times are hard and also gear yourself up with a mentor,” he advised.
