LARA OLADUNNI
Tonye Cole, Chairman, Sahara Group has said the only way Nigeria and Africa can catch up with other nations of the world economically is for young people to seize opportunity and work together as entrepreneurs.
Cole said this at the 2017 edition of Co-Working Conference held on Thursday at IMAX Cinema, Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria. According to him, many people successful people like him are not from Nigeria yet the country has far more talents than other countries in Africa.
“We shouldn’t go to sleep as if the rest of Africa is asleep,” he admonished. “They are challenging us and are moving fast. The continent has realised that entrepreneurship is the only way. They are seeking new opportunities because they realise they need to move forward,” he said.
Kola Oyeneyin, creator, Co-Working Conference Nigeria and founder/CEO, Venia said in his welcome address that co-working spaces are the future of work places in the world. According to him, by being a co-working space, entrepreneurs can identify can network, create funding opportunities for their businesses.
“The impact of co-working spaces can be far reaching,” he explained. “Young people, who are also called the millennials, can now work from anywhere. They are the digitally nomads. That’s the future of work. You see a guy in a café, buys a cup of coffee and doughnut working away on his PC. In the new co-working spaces, receptionists are no longer that they are called community managers because they manage different businesses.”
In his presentation titled: Future of The Co-World, Franklin Ozekhome, CEO, Tink Africa, said it is important to understand the consumer when co-creating.
“The brand must have a purpose, something that a consumer must feel that they are a part of. We have to look at what communities are creating for a better understanding of the consumer. You can no longer base consumers on their age or location. We need to create an ecosystem where the product is already embedded in the service. How can we trigger the evolution of consumerism?”
The event bought together global experts, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, and leading figures in Nigeria’s Coworking industry, who explored the drivers of the growth in Coworking spaces in Nigeria, and the opportunities and value being created.
