“You might say the ‘entrepreneurial brain’ is really the ‘paying attention brain.’ There is an art to paying attention, listening for opportunities, and having an open mind that looks for solutions.”
Belinda Ellsworth, Direct Sales Expert and Best-selling Author
Recently, the Federal Government of Nigeria has made several announcements regarding planned economic reforms. Yes, I know the information can be quite daunting at times, and it might be difficult to sift what is relevant from (lots of) noise. However, eyes on the ball – don’t let those distractions cause you to miss out on seizing opportunities. As a (growing) business, ensuring compliance and readiness for funding are essential – and you don’t wait till you need it to prepare. For instance, an investor friend shared they passed up on a deal last week due to the startup not having board minutes – a harsh reminder of the importance of basic organizational preparedness. Don’t wait till opportunity comes knocking to get your house in order – do it in advance.
In the meantime, here are a few reforms you should pay attention to and some actions you might need to take to position your business accordingly:
Tax Reforms: The Presidential Committee on Tax Reforms has proposed a new regime exempting certain businesses from withholding tax compliance. If you have not ‘formalized’ your business, this is the time to do so. Take advantage of these reforms to get your books in order and position yourself to access various support funds being made available to SMEs.
MSME Support: There are multiple MSME initiatives being launched, including a N650 billion facilitate to provide lower-cost short-term facilities to youth-owned businesses and MSMEs across various industries. While you might have already ruled yourself out because ‘you don’t know anyone’, may I suggest you actually put yourself in the running? Prepare by meeting standard loan requirements – register your business, open a bank account, audit your accounts. Even if you don’t get this loan, you will be prepared for the next one and your business will be better off for it.
Health Care & Social Welfare: If you are paying attention, you will notice a lot of funding is flowing into the healthcare sector post-covid, and Nigeria is not exempt. Key areas including local medicine production, health insurance coverage for vulnerable groups, redeployment of healthcare workers, and powering up healthcare centres with renewable energy sources. Assess the value chain and identify where you can be a service provider, create a product, support procurement, etc.
Where will you engage? How will you prepare? How will you position?
These reforms are by no means exhaustive, but they hopefully serve as an ‘eye-opener’ to start paying attention and, more importantly, to do what the top 1% do: take action!
Yours in Possibilities,
TKO
Ps – Venia’s #BuildBetter is hosting a free webinar on July 27th to decode these reforms and how to benefit from them. It’s a good first step on taking action. Click here to register.