Growing a business or a career in an emerging economy like Nigeria can be quite tedious, a pilot, Arinze Odira, who is also an investor, observed. To him, Networking is major way entrepreneurs and career persons can gain a competitive edge in a fierce labour space.
Odira, in his tweet chat with Nairametrics, disclosed that an individual’s network is his/her worth, especially in Nigeria where the society is relationship-based just like one would find in Asian countries. To him, in this part of the world, people like to establish links before doing business, as they are more comfortable doing business with people they trust within their network.
Odira explained that relationships and networking could be linked to career visibility, for an individual, adding that it is okay to leverage on the network for support.
He said, “The right information, at the right time from your network can be gold at all times. If you have 10 competent people applying for a position, an existing relationship with one of them might a key role in the final selection process.
“In Nigeria, we revered relationships a lot, therefore developing good networking skills is very important whether you are a career person or budding entrepreneur. Networking plays a big role in the private sector while it is generally believed that nepotism plays a bigger role in the public sector.”
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Meanwhile, Odira also disclosed that Nigeria has a growing population and that represents an attractive range of opportunities for investors in sectors like agriculture, healthcare, transport, logistics, real estate, entertainment, manufacturing and technology.
“Trade in consumer goods is going to top on that list if you doubt that have a chat with Dangote. For the right investment, a business owner has to have integrity, a name to the project and have a good personal financial ethic,” he added.
Finally, Odira in his top five recommended activities to create wealth in 2020, he advised Nigerians to develop skills, earn money from the skill, live within their means, save and invest, invest and reinvest.