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'Entrepreneurial Skills Matter in Telecoms Businesses' [interview](AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Unyime Idem is the Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of Idems Ultimate Limited, the winner of 2014 Airtel Best Channel Partner in Nigeria by Airtel Network Limited. The firm has won other awards, which included: 2013 Airtel Best Channel Partner in Nigeria by Airtel Network Limited; 2013 MTN Best Retail Sales Partner in Nigeria by MTN Mobile Network; 2014 Heros Award by Etisalat South Eastern Region; 2012 Best Partnership Award by Globacom, among others. Idem, in this interview with The Guardian's AYOYINKA JEGEDE in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, listed challenges confronting the telecoms sector; asked government to create enabling business environment. He also stressed the importance of entrepreneurial skills in the management of telecoms businesses. Excerpts... CAN you give a vivid explanation of your operations? We deal in telecommunications product and services. Even though we have other subsidiaries that deals with other products like cement, printing press and real estate but our major interest lies in telecommunications because this organization started with telecoms services some years back. It is the driver of other sectors. Operating in the telecoms sector and Nigeria as a whole, what are the challenges? Numerous challenges currently plaque this sector and Nigeria as a country, but we are coping. Like every other sectors of the economy, the challenge of erratic power supply affects telecommunications services. But with what government is doing with the private sector, we should soon overcome such challenges. Power supply is a major challenge at the moment. We spend so much money on diesel because we have to keep the business running. We are usually on generating set for 12 hours daily. Also we have about 25 vehicles that goes out on daily basis for marketing, to fuel this vehicles on daily basis is also another challenge. Then giving the environment that we have, this state as everybody knows it used to be a civil service state. The main stay is usually civil service and sometimes politics. But trying to sensitize the people to embrace entrepreneurship business is another challenge. To get somebody to work for you even when you pay him a very good package, that orientation of knowing the difference between business and civil service is a problem. We take our time to educate our staff to see how they can adjust from the background they had to the current trend which is entrepreneurship. You have been in this business for long; can you give an insight into your investment profile in the telecoms sector? There have been success stories around the business. We started the business with a meager capital. It wasn't anything to write home about but by the grace of God we have taken the business to a level where people have beginning to appreciate our efforts in the state. Our investment at the moment is very huge. I remembered when we started it was just in one local government area of the state precisely Ukanafun but we are now in the 31 Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. We have also expanded our tentacles to three other states around here, including Rivers, Cross Rivers and Abia. What is today known as Idems Ultimate Limited (true of his earlier vision in life and due to personal drive for self-actualization) began on August 8, 2005 with a meager capital of N45,000.00 and staff strength of two. The company actually began in Ukanafun LGA of Akwa Ibom State before expanding Uyo and later the 31 Local Government Areas of the state. As a way of reducing the rate of unemployment in the country, Idems Ultimate has staff strength of 206 including three chartered accountants spread across several states of the federation. Of great import is the fact that Idems Ultimate Limited has appointed a total number of 901 sub distributors who earn between N150, 000. 00 and N200, 000.00 monthly and 3200 appointed retailers who earn over N50, 000 as take home pay monthly. Of course we are not losing sight of thousands of roadside recharge card sellers who make a living out of recharge card business on a daily basis courtesy of Idems Ultimate Limited. Through personal determination, zeal and the indomitable spirit of entrepreneurship, Idems Ultimate Limited has grown in leap and bounds into a big conglomerate of Idems Group of Companies which includes; First Network Limited, Ibom Communications Limited, Villa Press Limited, Idems Property and Real Estate Limited and Ibom Cement Company Limited. Cognizance would be taken of the fact that the need to contribute to the State uncommon transformation drive, creation of job opportunities for unemployed Akwa Ibomites and young school leavers and improving the living standard of the people spurred Idems Ultimate to diversify its business concerns by way of expansion leading to establishment of other companies. Idems Business Empire now has business interests in telecoms, printing, building and construction as well as real estate, among other business lines. Idems Ultimate Limited believes in business diversification and broadening of business horizon; this has led to the establishment of business links and partnership with Samsung, Nokia, LG, Dell and HP concerns the aim of which is to make for affordability and ease of access to products of the aforementioned. Our company has assisted in scaling up business performance of Airtel and MTN as a fore-most Telecoms Service partner in Nigeria and has helped to deepen distribution network especially to the underserved markets across Nigeria. The company has valued business dealings with all telecoms companies in Nigeria including Airtel, MTN, GLO, Etisalat, and Visafone, among others. Today, Idems Ultimate Limited is the sole distributor of telecom products in Akwa Ibom State for MTN, Globacom, Etisalat and remains a major player in the telecommunications business. the company has also strengthened alliance with Airtel which is rooted in shared interest to become the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians and shared values that include people's empowerment and innovativeness. Looking at your achievement so far, where do you think government can come in to support businesses like yours? I will say majorly in the area of power supply. Whatever government needs to do to ensure the scheme takes off immediately, so that we can begin to save money from that angle will go a long way to help. Whatever the government needs to do to regularize the scheme where private companies come in and distribute electricity should be done. I learnt the process is ongoing, I will like government to speed up the process and ensure that this scheme commends immediately. Also the area of access to fund is also a problem. I want government to partner with us to see how they can guarantee us to have access to funds from the bank at cheaper interest rate this will be better than the huge interest rate we are paying at the moment. Also awareness, I would like to advise government through ministry of communication or through ministry of commerce to sensitize the people that everybody shouldn't depend on government job alone. Nigerians should embrace entrepreneurship. People should partner with us and get proper orientations and go into businesses so that they can be self reliance that way it will be easy for us to manage our establishment. What is your assessment of the contributions of the telecommunications sector to the economy of Nigeria? Telecommunication is the life wire of every economy in this country. There is no economy that we will succeed without telecommunication and the growth so far is something that we need to appreciate. When the business started, when the facilities where providing, it wasn't easy to go round the entire country but the speed the business is enjoying in this country now is amazing. With what has been done so far for the past 12 years the potentials untapped is still very huge and I believed that one of the sector that is really boosting Nigerians economy is telecommunication. Telecommunication contributes a reasonable percentage to the GDP of this country for 2014 financial year. How can telecoms sector help in reducing the unemployment problem challenge in this country? When it comes to employment, telecommunication sector has done so much. I remembered when I started the business initially it was with V-Mobile before we got dealership with other telecoms companies like MTN, Globalcom and Etisalat with Visafone as well. As at that time, we started with just two staff but right now we have employed 206 staff across where we have our investment and we still have rooms to employ more, we have been given opportunities to expand our operations, we believed that with government support, we are going to create most employment opportunities by expanding our operations to places that we have been given opportunities. What is the future of telecoms business in this market? The business is certain because there is no way you can do without telecommunications. At the moment, we have not reached the potentials for this business. Nigeria is estimated as population of over 160 million but so far based on NCC release months ago I think we are at about 130 million subscribers in all the networks, and then we still have more millions of Nigerians that are yet to utilize telephone facilities and this number does not include the kids that are yet to qualify and the ones given birth to on daily basis. Telecom is something that will continue to create employment opportunities for young school leavers in Nigeria and the teaming youths. It's a business that you can't do without. You recently won the 2014 Airtel best channel partner in Nigeria, how did you come about this? It was a tough one; it wasn't that ease, God's factor is the number one reason why we got the award, followed by some personal virtues that we exhibited in the course of our business in the last financial year. Those virtues cut across diligence in our business, consistency, punctuality and then passion and commitment are virtues that made us to scale through. At 2014 financial year we won both at the regional and national levels. Our company is service oriented and our passion in this business is to ensure that the product and services of this telecom sector is taken to all the nooks and crannies of the areas where we have our operations. It was really a tough competition, to contest in business that have about 161 channel partners across the nation also Akwa Ibom is not the biggest market in this business, Lagos is the biggest economy as far as telecoms business is concerned followed by Port Harcourt, you have Abuja as another big market, Akwa Ibom is one of the least but I tell you why we are succeeding is because we are very committed, and diligent. We put in our 100 per cent. Above all, we thank government of this state for providing enabling environment for business to thrive. This particular governor, Godswill Akpabio led administration has provided enabling environment for any business to thrive. We actually leverage on this level plain ground that the government has provided for entrepreneur which gives us an edge. Some school of thought in the country believed that awards winning goes along with 'settlement', I mean bribery. What's your view on this? In telecommunications business as a whole, the process is very transparent. Your performance is updated on monthly basis for you to see what you are doing. In telecommunication sector you can't bribe your way to have an award because it is all about performance, hardworking and whatever you are doing shows on monthly basis. Our victory, recognition and the award is not something that anybody can doubt. This is not our first award, we won 2013 Airtel Best Channel partner in Nigeria by Airtel Network and again we won in the last financial year. We won consecutively; this is the peak that no dealer has achieved in the business. What's the award all about? What Airtel gave is not really the motivating factor, that recognition of hard work and excellence is what actually made us happy. We got the certificate and we were also given 2014 Model Land cruiser Jeep and 2014 model Hyundai Jeep, we got two Jeep for being the regional winner and also national winner of the best Airtel Channel Partner in Nigeria for 2014 financial year. We won at the region and at the national level. Despite the level of investments, services are still poor. Why? When telecoms operators started in the country, users were not up to the numbers that we have today. Market has outgrown the users. What telecom operators need to do is to bring in more facilities and build more infrastructures. I believed that in a very short time the issue of call drops will be minimized to the barest minimum. Network providers like Airtel, MTN, Globalcom, and Etisalat are building more infrastructures to accommodate new subscribers that are brought into the network. Our jobs as partners are to continue to bring in more customers on daily basis not knowing that the network is already saturated. Looking at what they are doing at the moment by building more infrastructures, I want to believe that in a very short time things will regularize. Your advise to the government? They should recognize the important of entrepreneurs; government should recognize contributors of private sectors to the country's economy in the state and at the national level by partnering with them. Government should support us whatever way they can in terms of giving us guarantee to have access to funds. If these things are in place we are going to create more job opportunities for our teeming youths. Copyright The Guardian. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |