Maduka University has declared open its Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hub (EIH) as part of the bid to becoming a leading entrepreneurship university, innovation and resource centre dedicated to supporting business in the South East and Nigeria in general.
The Entrepreneurship Centre and Innovation Hub is divided into four units which include Innovation and Research Centre, ICT and Technical Support Unit, Entrepreneurship Training and Consulting Unit, and Skills and Development Unit. The EIH also offers skills training such as solar engineering; bakery and snacks production; shoe and sandal making; fashion design and dress making (male and female); vegetable and crop farming; phone repair; hair dressing and makeup. Others are soap, detergent, and perfume production and packaging; beads and bag making; artificial intelligence, animation, and graphic design; fish farming; drone technology (application of drones in agriculture, security surveillance and social event coverage); beekeeping; honey production and packaging; and food, spices processing, production, and packaging.
Delivering the lead paper, Necessity as the Mother of Entrepreneurs, at an event tagged, Start-Up Hangout, to formally declare open the Centre, the Chancellor of the University, Dr. Sam Maduka Onyishi, said he had never considered himself a smart businessman. “Foolishness gave me the opportunity to become what I am today,” he stated.
Drawing insights from his personal experience, Dr. Onyishi urged the students and entrepreneurs to always embrace integrity, uphold high moral standards, conduct business ethically, and, above all, maintain a reverence for God. He said that the University would establish an investment platform to teach students how to invest and save money. “You cannot be an entrepreneur without knowing how to save and invest. You have to save, no matter how little, you invest and grow,” he said.
The Chancellor stated that the entrepreneurship centre will ensure that every student graduates with at least four skills, while also positively impacting the immediate environment. He disclosed that the University plans to partner with CISCO and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) to certify students of the University in digital skills and charter accountancy students.
Earlier in her presentation, Mrs. Chinyere Otuonye, who spoke on Access to Business Financing and Grants, looked at the different financing options and their disadvantages and recommended grants as a the most preferable option. However, she warned that not every grant is a good grant for one's business and counselled for industry-specific grants.
On how to apply for grants, Otuonye gave the following advice to entrepreneurs:
1. Work with your local business support associations
2. Prepare your documents
3. Write a business plan
4. Structure your business
In his presentation, working with the philosophy of money and wealth, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Charles Ogbulogo, said that though philosophy guides thought processes for action in the journey of life at the personal and corporate domains, few people maximise the benefit of philosophy in money matters.
Prof. Ogbulogo said this explains why many people fall easy prey to money games and tricks, stressing that the entrepreneur has to understand the philosophy of money in order to make the critical difference.
Also speaking, Anayo Agu, stressed that success in entrepreneurship is a multifaceted concept that extends beyond mere financial gains to encompass a holistic system of life skills, self-image, and dynamic capabilities, each playing a crucial role in shaping an entrepreneur's journey and achievements. See
