TEN PEARLS OF WISDOM FROM AFRICA’S YOUNGEST BILLIONAIRE ASHISH THAKKAR

By Seye Odukogbe

It was Friday, the 21^st of June at the Shehu Musa YarAdua Centre where the young entrepreneurs in Abuja gathered to meet with one man: Ashish J Thakkar.

As he walked into the room, I wasn’t sure what to expect – Ashish’s demeanour was as simple as the late Steve Job’s giving a talk on the latest Apple release, yet his accomplishments were somewhat ethereal. At the age of fifteen, he dropped out of High School to start his own business, Mara Group. Fifteen years later, he is Africa’s youngest billionaire and World Economic Forum Young Global leader.

Within an hour of hearing him speak, it was evident why Ashish Thakkar is the lion of the business jungle.

Below are ten pearls of wisdom drawn from his fountain of knowledge. For every young, aspiring entrepreneur who seeks to make a difference, this is the manual: from a young entrepreneur to a young entrepreneur.

Be a risk taker
No entrepreneur worth his salt ever accomplished greatness without taking any risks. Ashish was prepared to drop out of school for a year to give his business a shot. If it failed, at least he tried. If he succeeded, there was no turning back.

Create solutions
With every challenge lies an opportunity. Mara group focused on Africa that has its unique challenges of lack of infrastructure, power instability and manufacturing industry decline. Ashish however saw opportunity in each challenge and this has been paramount to his success. You can moan and groan about problems or you can see these challenges as opportunities.

Study the market
Study the pulse of the market you intend to run your business and be thorough in your research. Know your market, learn how it works, know the players, establish relationships, change the game or be the game. Ashish not only studies the market but immerses himself in the culture of the people he does business with. He tries to pick up their language or at least learn their local greeting. This makes his business style endearing to the host communities.

Start early
There is never the perfect time to launch out into your business. Ashish could have waited to finish his formal education or he could have followed his instincts. By starting out early, he managed to capture the market by selling computer parts before expanding to real estate, tourism, financial services, information and communications technology, renewable energy and manufacturing. The earlier you start, the more you can achieve!

Make a positive, social impact
Success is not defined by how much money you make, but by how many lives you have impacted. It is about creating positive change and social responsibility to the country in which you are engaging your business in and helping others fulfil their dreams. Ashish spends almost an equal amount of time on his foundation that mentors young entrepreneurs as he does with his day-to-day business.

Follow your instinct
An entrepreneur must ensure that his business is guided by his instinct and value systems otherwise it is bound to fail. Mara Group believes in transparency and does not hide behind various corporate veils. Align your business to your values and follow your instincts.

Be passionate
You must be passionate about the business you are in! Passion will drive you when things seemingly get tough.

Develop solid business structure
Ensure your business has a solid structure. Mara Group ensures it abides by the regulations in each trading hub, including business registrations and taxations. With a solid business structure, it was easy to secure the credit lines at the initial stages of his business.

Envisage the future
Ashish believes it is time for Africa to shine and he has ensured his companies are strategically positioned for his vision of the future. “The Indian tiger and the Chinese dragon have had their days; it’s now the African lion’s turn” he says. The lion is the logo of the Mara group and rightfully so for it has roared its way to success, a feat that cannot be overstate

Continue learning
Ashish did not have formal mentors when starting out his business but he had an inquisitive mind. He read a lot of biographies, asked the right questions and continued to learn.  He would not advice anyone to drop out of school but his advice is keep learning and do what you feel is right for you. An entrepreneur never stops learning.

Whilst Ashish’s demeanour is strikingly similar to that of Steve Jobs; that is strangely where their similarities end, for he seems to have defied the famous Apple’s advert logic. He is a disrupter of a different kind. He is not a rebel. He is not a trouble maker. He is not a round peg in the square hole. He is very much fond of rules. He ‘feels’ like a nobody.

Well, for once, ‘nobody’ is on his way to changing his world! The room was filled with other ‘nobodies’ who have the same passion: to create change, to shape the communities and the world we live in. This is what makes the Global Shapers unique; it is for those who dare to believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Seye Odukogbe is the founder of ‘Stay Focused’, a social enterprise dedicated to breaking down the practical barriers to employability that stand in the way of talented, young people. Seye is passionate about improving people, processes and committed to human development and community service. With masters in engineering and professional qualifications in project management, Seye has been involved in a number of multi-disciplinary project teams (within Europe, Middle East, North America and Africa) and has spearheaded transport and infrastructure projects in Nigeria.

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Culled from Bella Naija.

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET! BAD HABITS DON’T JUST GO AWAY.

By Project Alert

Meeting Ola was one very weird occurrence. I had gone out to buy a recharge card that evening a few blocks away from my house and was coming back full of smiles because I couldn’t wait to finish the chat I was having with my best friend Bisi when I ran out of airtime on my phone. I was heading home when a black Toyota Avalon brushed me off the road and I fell into the gutter. I remember the roar of laughter that came out of different shops on the street as I stood in the gutter, looking confused. I believe people laughed at me hysterically because for years, I had held the title of “the undisputed street snob”. No one offered to help me out of the gutter as they were more consumed with laughter than paying attention to my plight.

Then out of the car, a handsome hunk stepped out. One look at his smile and all the anger I had pent up for him disappeared. He was a sweet-looking young man, you know that kind of guy that shuts you up with his appearance because you would rather just look at him than utter a word. Then he began, “Hi. I’m Ola. I’m so sorry about this.” I was too carried away to hear other things he said. He gave me a hand, offered to take me home to clean-up and then go shopping in one of the finest boutiques in town. Ola was so kind to me that day. For the first time in my life, I actually enjoyed falling into the gutter because it gave me the chance to meet my Prince charming. It’s not every day you meet a man who is really good-looking. We exchanged numbers that day and became friends.

Ola told me he was an IT consultant, he had his own company and was very successful for a 27-year old young man. He had a house at Ikoyi with a garage that housed three other exotic cars. He was the kind of man every woman dreams of and he was in love with me. Within six months into our relationship, he proposed and I accepted his proposal with both hands. Everything was going smoothly until I moved in with him.

After one week of living in his house, the truth began to unfold. I discovered Ola was not your regular IT consultant; he was an internet fraudster who hacked into people’s account to defraud them. He was also a drug addict and had a habit of patronizing strip clubs. The Ola I lived with was definitely not the sweet Ola I met and fell in love with. He snaps at me at every slight provocation and has beaten me up severally. But the thing I love about him is his ability to apologize and make up for his mistakes.

The last time he gave me a black eye, he took me to Paris just to say he is sorry. He’s so sweet and I am so in love that I am beginning to get used to living with a bad guy. Ola has promised to change once we get married. He says I am the only one that can change him and I believe him. Besides our wedding is close and it’s too late to call off the wedding. I will marry him and pray he changes.

Every day, we see women whose lives are similar to this lady’s story. Many women stoop very low to accept marriage proposals from men who batter them even before they say “I do”.

Ladies, you can’t change a man simply because you are his girlfriend or wife. A man that has formed habits over the years usually doesn’t transform over night because he loves you. Your wedding day is not a day of transformation. If a man smokes, drinks, womanizes, beats women, spends recklessly, is addicted to drugs and other harmful vices, there is no guarantee he will suddenly change because he is now a married man. What you see is what you get. Domestic violence will reduce if ladies will take their destiny in their hands and choose their husbands wisely.

Project Alert is a non-governmental human rights organization established in 1999 to protect and promote the rights of women and young girls in the society, especially their rights to live free from all forms of violence against them. Our areas of intervention are Research and Documentation (R&D), Human Rights Education (HRE) and Support Services Program (SSP) which includes legal aid, temporary shelter services for abused women, counselling, and skills acquisition training. Follow us on twitter @Projectalertvaw and connect with us on Facebook: Project Alert on violence against women | Our website

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Culled From Bella Naija.

YAH ITS THE FIRST DAY OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR.

I'm really excited. I really don't know what to write. Today's my first day of blogging. Yah. I'm grateful to God for January to June, for preserving my family and friends, and for my job. Really looking forward to the remaining part of the year, i know there's alot in store for you and i.