Economy
Seven-Up Boss Gives Strategic Tips For SME Growth
With a wealth of experience spanning over three decades, Ziad Maalouf, Managing Director of Seven-Up Bottling Company (SBC), is undoubtedly someone whom a small enterprise owner would value spending a few minutes with.
Over the weekend, 40 small and medium-sized enterprise owners had the luxury of hours of lectures and interaction with this highly experienced entrepreneur.
This opportunity was made possible through the SMEs Scale-Up Bootcamp, organised by SBC in partnership with Zenith Bank and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
After running his business and working with multinational companies in Asia, Ziad has dedicated over 17 years to working in Nigeria with SBC. He admires the spirit and business acumen of Nigerian entrepreneurs, and he believes in the importance of fostering the growth of this vital sector in the Nigerian economy by empowering entrepreneurs to scale. Participants at the bootcamp were enthusiastic about his depth of knowledge and found his practical and engaging presentation inspiring.
Here is a summary of scaling tips for budding entrepreneurs provided by Ziad:
Identify your ‘sweet spot’: A sweet spot is a combination of three things that every entrepreneur must get right. According to Ziad, not every idea will scale up. Ideas with the potential for scaling are those that harmonise your experience, passion, and address a genuine need in the world (or have the potential to do so). Ziad advised entrepreneurs that if their current business fails to encompass all three aspects, a reconsideration is necessary. “You might just be in the wrong business,” he emphasised.
Avoid look-alike recruitment: When Ziad mentioned this, almost all the entrepreneurs in the room felt guilty. It’s one of the traps several entrepreneurs fall into. He recommended the SABI (Strive, Accountability, Bonding and Innovation) formula for entrepreneurs when recruiting and task allocation. He said, as innovators, entrepreneurs should scout for talents and skills they lack in others.
Network: Ziad emphasises that startups often overlook the importance of networking. He asserts, “Your business won’t scale up until you elevate your relationships.” Additionally, he underscores the significance of a robust network in times of crisis, stating, “If you are scaling up, you need to be prepared for crises, as they will inevitably confront you, especially as a big company.”
Increase willingness to pay: This is tied to creating value that will make the customer want to pay more for your product or service. Ziad said businesses willing to scale must provide functional, social, and emotional value. “What many entrepreneurs don’t know is that customers are willing to pay more if you offer the value. This is what gives an edge over a competitor. When you have the value that the world needs, customers will neglect other products for yours.”
Distinguish cash and profit: According to Ziad, this is a part that has killed millions of SMEs. “Profit is not cash. Cash tells you how well your business is doing financially. It shows you how much you earned in a period, not how much you have left. A profitable business can run into trouble if it does not have cash. Cash is the oxygen of the business. Lose it and you are gone,” he said.
Teamwork: Ziad acknowledged that entrepreneurs want to be involved in every aspect, but warned that it’s a pitfall to avoid. He advised that a passionate leader of a business should build a team and delegate work. “Spend more time on ideas to grow the business rather than stalling the growth by trying to micromanage,” he said.
Know when to take a loan: For growth and expansion, he said there is usually a need for a loan if your savings can’t cover the capital needed. “When I hear people say I run a debt-free company, I smile. It sounds stupid to me. For instance, I don’t see why you should not take a loan of N100m at 25% interest rate a year if it will yield you a profit of N200m in two years. Another thing to note is to be honest with the banks when taking loans. Of the five Cs of lending (Character, Capacity, Condition, Capacity and Collateral), character is very key to accessing loans. Yes, we want to paint good pictures to impress the banks, but they also look at your sincerity and honesty while presenting your plan,” he said.
Adopt artificial intelligence: Ziad also advised entrepreneurs to adopt technology that will boost their productivity, efficiency, and quality of products and services. This, he said, is key to scaling in today’s business world.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Energy stocks influenced the 4.76 per cent loss recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, December 5.
The culprits were the duo of 11 Plc and Nipco Plc,with the former shedding N32.17 to end at N291.83 per share compared with the previous day’s N324.00 per share, and the latter down by N21.00 to sell at N195.00 per unit versus the previous session’s N216.00 per unit.
Consequently, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slumped by 170.16 points to 3,401.37 points from 3,571.53 points and the market capitalisation lost N101.81 billion to close at N2.035 billion from the N2.136 trillion quoted in the preceding session.
The OTC securities exchange suffered the decline yesterday despite the share prices of three companies closing green.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was up by N1.80 to close at N39.80 per share compared with Thursday’s price of N38.00 per share, Air Liquide Plc appreciated by N1.09 to N11.99 per unit from N10.90 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 78 Kobo to N56.57 per share from N55.79 per share.
During the session, the volume of transactions rose by 6,885.3 per cent to 18.2 million units from 4.3 million units, the value of transactions ballooned by 10,301.7 per cent to N389.7 million from N347.2 million, but the number of deals declined by 29.7 per cent to 26 deals from 37 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units valued at N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units worth N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated further against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, December 5, as FX demand pressure mounts.
The Nigerian currency lost N2.60 or 0.18 per cent against the greenback to close at N1,450.43/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.83/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency declined against the Pound Sterling in the official forex market during the session by N4.48 to trade at N1,935.45/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,930.97/£1 and shrank against the Euro by 43 Kobo to end at N1,689.17/€1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N1,688.74/€1.
Similarly, the local currency performed badly against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to close at N1,455/$1 versus Thursday’s N1,453/$1 but traded flat at the parallel market at N14.65/$1.
As the country gets into the festive period, pressure mounted on the local currency reflecting higher foreign payments and lower FX inflows.
However, there are expectations that the Nigerian currency will be stable, supported by interventions by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the face of steady dollar Demand and inflows from Detty December festivities that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450/$1 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
As for the crypto market, it was down yesterday due to profit-taking associated with year-end trading. However, the December 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation by the University of Michigan fell to 4.1 per cent from 4.5 per cent previously and 4.5 per cent expected. The 5-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation fell to 3.2 per cent from 3.4 per cent previously and 3.4 per cent expected.
With the dearth of official economic data of late, these private surveys have taken on a new level of significance and the market banks of them to make decisions.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.7 per cent to $0.4142, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 5.1 per cent to $0.1394, Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 3.9 per cent to $3,039.75, Solana (SOL) declined by 3.8 per cent to $133.24, and Litecoin (LTC) fell by 3.7 per cent to $80.59.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 2.6 per cent to sell at $89,683.72, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 2.2 per cent to $883.59, and Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.1 per cent to $2.04, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market was up on Friday on increasing expectations the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, which could boost economic growth and energy demand.
Brent futures rose by 49 cents or 0.8 per cent to $63.75 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expanded by 41 cents or 0.7 per cent to $60.08 per barrel.
Investors digested a US inflation report and recalibrated expectations for the Federal Reserve to reduce rates at its December 9-10 meeting.
US consumer spending increased moderately in September after three straight months of solid gains, suggesting a loss of momentum in the economy at the end of the third quarter as a lackluster labor market and the rising cost of living curbed demand.
Traders have been pricing in an 87 per cent chance that the US central bank will lower borrowing costs by 25 basis points next week, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
Investors also focused on news from Russia and Venezuela to determine whether oil supplies from the two sanctioned members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) will increase or decrease in the future.
The failure of US talks in Moscow to achieve any significant breakthrough over the war in Ukraine has helped to boost oil prices so far this week.
A loss of Venezuelan oil production in case of a US military intervention will materially impact global benchmark prices as the market will have to replace Venezuela’s heavy crude.
Venezuela is estimated to pump about 1.1 million barrels per day of crude oil at present, so if the US-Venezuela tension escalation into an invasion in the South American country, this volume of crude would be at risk.
Reuters reported that the Group of Seven countries and the European Union are in talks to replace a price cap on Russian oil exports with a full maritime services ban in a bid to reduce the oil revenue that helps finance Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Any deal that could lift sanctions on Russia, the world’s second-biggest crude producer after the US, could increase the amount of oil available to global markets, weakening prices.
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