Seven-Up Bottling Company collaborated with Zenith Bank and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to organize a two-day Scale-Up Bootcamp for small and medium-sized enterprises. The aim was to provide these businesses with essential information and strategies to help them scale up.
The bootcamp featured sessions led by industry experts including Ziad Maalouf, the Managing Director of Seven-Up Bottling Company, Segun Ogunleye, GM of Marketing at Seven-Up Bottling Company, Lanre Oladimeji, the Head of Retail Banking at Zenith Bank, Oluyomi Banjo, the National Director at UNIDO, Babatunde Irukera, the former Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Agency, and Adeshola Aliogo, the Founder of Thrive HR.
The bootcamp provided valuable insights on corporate, people management, and financial management strategies crucial for scaling. Here are ten key takeaways from the bootcamp:
Insight from Ziad during a session
1. Discover your ‘sweet spot’: According to Ziad, a successful business aiming to scale must combine experience, passion, and value to meet a global need. Entrepreneurs were advised to reevaluate their business if it fails to match all three criteria.
Lanre Oladimeji from Zenith Bank during his presentation
2. Tips for accessing loans: Lanre Oladimeji highlighted the importance of understanding the five Cs of credit and emphasized the key role of character in obtaining loans. He also stressed the need for a business continuity and succession plan and advised applicants to help bankers understand their business to access loans effectively.
3. Fear breeds errors: Entrepreneurs were cautioned against fostering a zero-tolerance environment for mistakes as it hinders growth. It was advised that teams should be encouraged to learn from errors for personal and business development.
CEOs of SMEs at the bootcamp
4. Team evaluation and incentives: Ziad emphasized the importance of evaluating and motivating the team based on performance. He suggested creating a performance and incentive framework to drive results and scale the business.
5. Wrong recruitment costs more: Adeshola Aliogo emphasized the significance of employee engagement for enterprise growth, pointing out the high cost of wrong recruitment.
6. Look-alike recruitment breeds stagnation: To drive business growth, a diverse team was recommended using the SABI formula – Strive, Accountability, Bonding, and Innovation.
Insight from Oluyomi Banjo during the UNIDO session
7. SME funding opportunity at UNIDO: Oluyomi Banjo announced UNIDO’s commitment to supporting sustainable development and encouraged SMEs to take advantage of initiatives such as the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme for business support.
8. Increase willingness to pay: Ziad stressed the importance of creating value to make customers willing to pay more for products or services.
Insight from Babatunde Irukera during the regulatory framework session
9. Regulation rewards innovation: Babatunde Irukera highlighted the importance of regulation for business growth and encouraged entrepreneurs to understand the regulatory scope within their business space.
10. Explore incremental and architectural ideas: Entrepreneurs were advised to consider improving existing products or services and applying existing ideas or technology to new areas for business growth.