News
Two Startups Win at CFA’s Startups Hangout as speakers pass on valuable nuggets to Startups
By peter oluka
The last edition of CFA’s Startups Hangout for 2017, was held on Friday, November 24, 2017 at Adna Hotel, GRA, Ikeja. The edition featured a Pitch session two Startups pitching.
Before the Pitch session, however, the invited speakers at the event, John Obaro, MD, SystemSpecs, (Remita) and Jane Egerton-Idehen, Country Manager, Avanti Satellite Communications , gave the attendee Startups some nuggets on what and what not to do, if they want to successfully run their Startup businesses.
First to speak was John Obaro, MD, SystemSpecs, (Remita). John was full of praises for the CFA team for organising the Start-ups Hangout.
He gave a vivid illustration of the power of technology, when he revealed that he had to resort to the use of the Google Map to guide him through the heavy traffic to arrive at the venue of the Hangout event, way ahead of some members of his staff that left the office earlier than he did, but we’re still stuck in traffic.
John, then, gave the Startups 19 nuggets that can assist them to run a successful business and also, to scale.
Some of these nuggets, as analysed here, include the fact that the Start-ups should be ethical in their approach to doing business and also have integrity. He admonished the Startups not to cut corners if they want to play for the long haul.
John also emphasised the need for the Startups to respect their employees, even though, they pay their salaries, as they cannot do the job alone.
He also stressed the need for the Startups to learn to work hard, stating that, being an entrepreneur calls for giving 24 hours attention to the business and they should not see it as an 8:00am to 5:00pm job schedule, if they want to succeed in it.
Another critical nugget that John passed on, is the fact that the Start-ups should get legal advise, all the way through the journey of their business, so as not to run into problems along the way. He also advised the Startups to learn to walk away from business deals that, in the end will make them lose focus of their objectives and goals and then, bring problems to the business, sooner or later.
“Not all jobs are for you, although, they may look attractive”, he stressed. He, however, agreed that this could be a tough call for a budding Startup, who needs to keep body and soul together as well as keep his business afloat, but he advised that they should be smart in choosing.
Startups should pioneer their own solutions, according to John. “It’s nice to copy, but it is better to be a pioneer. Pioneer your own solutions. Learn to carve out something distinct”, he encouraged the Startups.
Jane then, took the stage. She gave a different perspective to the whole scenario, when she stated that she was going to talk about her failure story, so that the Startups could learn what not to do. “Many successful entrepreneurs, always talk about their success stories and say nothing about the business they tried out, but failed in”, she stressed. “I am going to talk about a business I tried my hands on and failed in, so that you can learn what not to-do from it”, she explained.
Jane said that she started a business with some of her friends some years ago, called Moma, a fashionware outfit that pregnant women can patronise to get fitting wears for themselves during pregnancy. The first blunder that she and her partners made, was that none of them knew about fashion design processes.
She stated that, not until she started negotiating with factories in China and in India and she started to hear some fashion designing terms that were strange to her, that she now had to attend a Fashion Design school to keep herself up to date. According to Jane, the first lesson to learn, therefore, is to know the business you want to go into, in and out.
Jane also stated that, when the business was failing and there came a time to make a choice as to whether to source for more funding or wind down the business, she realised that her friends who were her partners were not interested in acting on any of the options and she stated that she just had to walk away from the business, preferring to lose all her investments instead of destroying friendship.
The lessons to learn here, she stated include the fact that, no matter who you are going into business with, whether they be your friends or whoever, always have a Memorandum of understanding drawn before you commence the business. Do not overlook the legal aspects of your business as this could be crucial in defining a lot of things in future.
Jane ended by saying that, as an entrepreneur, Startups should carve out time for their business and not just leave it solely for their Managers to run.
Out of the three Startups that were shortlisted and invited to participate in the pitch session, only two showed up. The two were Touchabl.com and wokkaholic.com.
Touchabl, according to Gabriel Eze, the Founder/UX Designer, is a platform, where you can instantly search for anything in a picture by touching it. He explained the attributes, traction, income and profit potentials, etc., of the business as well as what the business will be needing to move on to the next level.
Likewise, Victor Tams, Founder/CEO of Wokkaholic.com, explained that the platform is one, where professional skill-based services, such as graphic artists, etc., can be sourced. He also explained the modus operandi of the business, attributes, traction, income and profit potentials, etc.
At the end of the day, it was decided that the two Startups, who incidentally both came all the way from Port Harcourt, be given the opportunity of featuring in an interview with me on Tech Trends on Channels Television.
Ehi Braimah, the chairman of Neo Media & Marketing Limited, graced the November 2017 edition of the CFA’s Startups Hangout with his attendance.
The November 2017 edition of CFA’s Startups Hangout was sponsored by TAMS and Remita.
The organizers thanked the Media partners, Guardian Tech, NigeriaCommunications Week, Connectnigeria, ITPulse, Cyber Africa and Technext.ng for their continued support in publicising the event for the benefit of the numerous Startups.
Watch out for the next edition of CFA’s Startups Hangout @ http://startups.cfatech.ng
Oladipupo Adebutu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, has alleged that all state governors in Nigeria are benefiting from and misappropriating local government allocations.
Oladipupo Adebutu
Adebutu made the remarks at the Ake Palace in Abeokuta during a meeting with the Egba Traditional Council, where he sought the support and blessings of traditional rulers for his governorship ambition.
He was accompanied by his running mate, Lateefat Sowunmi-Kolapo; the PDP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central, Iyabo Obasanjo; the Ogun State PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella; and other party leaders and candidates.
Addressing the traditional rulers, Adebutu declared that granting full financial autonomy to local governments would be one of the defining policies of his administration.
“I will do something that will stun this nation and put us in the right direction. Local governments shall get their own money,” he said.
He added: “We must make sure we get local government autonomy. I have been reiterating to you that I, Oladipupo Olatunde, son of Adebutu, was at the National Assembly twice, and I can boast that I didn’t embezzle public funds. How many politicians can say this?”
Adebutu accused governors across party lines of diverting local government funds.
“It’s not a party thing. Both APC and PDP, all the governors are embezzling local government allocations. It’s not a secret,” he said.
He argued that local councils were able to deliver more development when they had greater control over their finances.
On infrastructure financing, Adebutu said governments must adopt new approaches rather than relying on borrowing.
“You don’t borrow money for infrastructure anymore,” he said, while promising to construct roads that would improve connectivity between Ogun State and Lagos.
In his remarks, Abayomi Tella, State Chairman of the PDP, lamented that the local government system in the state is in a state of collapse, recalling that as a former council chairman, he received N200 million as an allocation and used it to construct four roads within his local government.
He expressed concern that the current local government chairmen cannot point to any project of similar impact, attributing the situation to a lack of financial autonomy.
The PDP chairman said he strongly believes in Adebutu’s advocacy for local government autonomy, stressing that Adebutu is prepared and ready to lead the development of Ogun State.
Sowunmi-Kolapo, deputy governorship candidate, called on her kinsmen to support her political aspiration, noting that she has continued to support the development of Egbaland.
Also speaking, Iyabo Obasanjo, PDP candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial District, said that after leaving the APC following her unsuccessful governorship bid, she came to believe that Adebutu has the vision and political will to actualise her aspirations and manifesto for the people.
Obasanjo further noted that no political party has a more formidable team in Egbaland than the PDP, urging Egba monarchs to throw their weight behind the party in the interest of the people.
In his welcome address, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, described Adebutu as “trustworthy and reliable,” declaring his support for the party’s flag bearer ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The Alake recalled his long-standing relationship with Adebutu’s father and expressed confidence in Adebutu’s character and leadership qualities.
“The son of a lion must resemble the lion. In fact, he is an even better version of his father,” Oba Gbadebo said.
Federal high court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of N941,994,079.86 linked to suspected ghost workers uncovered in the integrated payroll and personnel information system (IPPIS) to the federal government.
IPPIS is a centralised payroll system the federal government introduced to manage the salaries of federal public sector employees.
Binta Nyako, presiding judge, gave the order following an application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“That an Order is hereby made for the Final Forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria the Sum of N941,994,079.86 seized during investigation into the IPPIS Payroll scam in the year 2024,” Nyako ruled.
Okor Odey, ICPC spokesperson, announced the forfeiture in a statement issued at the weekend.
The ICPC spokesperson said investigations by the commission uncovered “large-scale payroll fraud involving hundreds of non-existent public servants, with a total sum of N941,994,079.86 traced to accounts linked to the scheme”.
Odey said a review of the IPPIS conducted in 2023 revealed the “existence of numerous “ghost workers” embedded within the payrolls of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)”.
According to him, following the findings, President Bola Tinubu approved a “comprehensive audit” of the IPPIS.
He added that a joint investigation between the ICPC and the office of the accountant-general of the federation in April 2025 led to the discovery of 587 suspected ghost workers on the IPPIS platform.
“Investigations revealed that fictitious IPPIS identities had been created for non-existent personnel across multiple MDAs, with salaries paid over extended periods into accounts belonging to individuals and companies,” Odey said.
“In many cases, the account names did not correspond with those of the purported employees, while some accounts received multiple salary payments simultaneously.”
The ICPC spokesperson said the agency placed post no debit (PND) restrictions on all identified accounts to freeze the funds suspected to be proceeds of fraud.
He said the affected MDAs include the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), federal ministries of defence, education, agriculture and rural development, works, water resources, and interior.
Others are National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Benin, University of Calabar, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the office of the accountant-general of the federation.
The ICPC spokesperson said 120 civil servants were cleared after their identities and employment status were confirmed following a verification exercise in 2025.
He added that 467 bank accounts remain linked to unverified individuals with holders yet to be identified.
He noted that the N941.9 million currently frozen in the 467 bank accounts has been forfeited to the federal government.
He disclosed that the agency published the names of the 910 individuals suspected to have benefited from the purported fraud in two national dailies on March 18, 2026.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has introduced the Blue Economy Accelerator Programme, a strategic initiative designed to identify, nurture, and accelerate innovative startups that will contribute to the sustainable growth of Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.
The Blue Economy Accelerator Programme is aimed at attracting young, vibrant minds with innovative ideas capable of transforming Nigeria’s maritime ecosystem.
Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Director-General of NIMASA, said that through the initiative, participants will receive structured business development support, industry mentorship, and technical guidance to convert promising concepts into viable ventures that address critical challenges and opportunities within the blue economy.
“The programme reflects NIMASA’s commitment to supporting the implementation of the vision of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in unlocking the immense potential of the blue economy by empowering young innovators, entrepreneurs, and technology-driven enterprises. We at NIMASA want to provide a platform for investors to identify young talents and invest in them”.
Mobereola, who commended the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola for codifying the Marine and Blue Economy Policy as a clear roadmap for the sector’s development, urged young Nigerians to embrace the programme which has the potential to transform raw talents into big investments in the maritime sector.
Applications are open to startups and innovators developing solutions across several strategic sectors, including marine waste management and the blue circular economy; aquaculture and sustainable fisheries; maritime technology and logistics innovation; ocean energy including wave, tidal, and offshore renewable energy; marine tourism and coastal recreation; marine biotechnology such as, ocean data and analytics; green shipping, including vessel decarbonization; smart port solutions; autonomous marine vehicles; biofouling prevention technologies; and coastal resilience through nature-based coastal defencesolutions.
The first phase of the programme is expected to attract a minimum of 150 high-quality applications from within and outside the country provided they are Nigerian citizens.
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