General News
Entrepreneurship Skills for Growth-Orientated Start-Ups
By Michael Oludare
Fueled by the mass adoption of digital technologies, the globalization of markets, and demographic shifts, the world of work is rapidly changing.
The days of learning as one distinct phase of life are long over; today, talent must commit to continuously developing new capabilities and knowledge. In particular, entrepreneurs must continuously up skill to ensure the success of startup ventures.
A Harvard University study found that as much as eighty-five per cent of job success comes from having well‐developed people-centered capabilities – what we have often called “soft skills.” Given how critical they are today, a better term is “power skills” – as technology continues to automate more routine parts of work, a higher premium will be placed on talent who can effectively communicate, collaborate, and lead teams. In view of the critical role that small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) play in any nation’s economic development, it becomes imperative that startups leverage such power skills to optimize business performance.
Technical skills, involving the use of knowledge and tools to complete high-level tasks, will always be an essential component of work. But the ways we work are also shifting rapidly, as technologies like artificial intelligence automate routine parts of work and practices like citizen development demystify practices like coding which were previously only accessible to those with highly technical skill sets.
In this new paradigm, it’s simply table stakes to master the technical side of work; even more crucial is cultivating enduring human-based capabilities and creativity. Such power skills profoundly shape how an individual interacts with others and achieves their goals. Think of capabilities like leadership and strategic communication that can’t be easily automated by machines. After all, no matter how advanced computers become, they still lack the ability to rally a team around an inspirational shared vision in the face of challenges. Although the mastery of technical and people-based skills alikeare necessary to successfully perform and advance in the marketplace, the acquisition of hard skills is too often over-emphasized at the expense of other skills that may be more challenging to quantify and measure, like resilient leadership.
In a bid to help startups navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship in Africa, The Project Management Institute (PMI) collaborated with The Tony Elumelu Foundation to createa six-part series on “Idea to Reality: Project Management for SMEs”. The fifth installment of the masterclass session titled “Idea to Reality: Power Skills” explored a range of power skillsthat helped organizational leaders and teams stay focused, engage, drive efficiency, and produce business value.
George Asamani, business development lead, Africa at the Project Management Institute (PMI) was a facilitator for this session. He shared from his wealth of knowledge as an industry expert offering project solutions that develop skills, drive efficiency and deliver impact to institutions across sectors on the continent.
He reiterated the message that successful project management requires more than the mastery of technical skills; it also requires a special set of skills to align the deployment of all resources toward the desired goal, achieving set objectives.
To buttress his point on the often overlooked yet strategic impact of power skills, he examined relevant power skills using Porter’s value chain – a framework that breaks an organization’s activities down into strategically relevant pieces. The primary activities of Michael Porter’s value chain are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. The goal of the five sets of activities is to create value that exceeds the cost of conducting that activity, therefore generating a higher profit. He further stressed that incorporating soft skills such as negotiation, business ethics, strategic thinking, adaptability, resourcefulness, creativity, persuasion, tenacity, emotional intelligence and logical thinking into activities on the value chain provides a source of differentiation and competitive advantage for startups.
In a data-driven world, power skills have been somewhat de-emphasized. This is a grave mistake when it comes to project management, where a combination of skills is necessary. Now more than ever, due to unprecedented workplace evolution and complexity, the future of the workplace requires agile, change-ready teams—led by strong power skills including collaboration, empathy, creativity and innovation. Power skills allow entrepreneurs to apply their technical understanding within the context of a particular situation.
The Project Management Institute has developed the Talent Triangle, a model for the ideal project manager skill set that includes a mixture of the capabilities needed to succeed. The talent triangle focuses on the areas of leadership, technical project management, and strategic and business management. Each part of the triangle is of equal importance. “When you consider the challenges of the unpredictable nature of entrepreneurship and the technical skills versus power skills debate, you realize that technical skills are not enough neither are power skills. You need both to thrive on your entrepreneurial journey” said George Asamani, he further revealed that “people are a startup’s most valuable commodity. You get more value in your business when you diversify your team by adding complementary power skills.”
Although many of these power skills derive from innate ability, the organizationculture plays a considerable role in developing it. Startups should develop employee soft skills with the requisite training as this will help increase overall business performance – and ultimately deliver a higher return on investment.
United States Government has said that Nigeria is not making significant progress in fiscal transparency, referencing gaps in the country’s budget disclosure, expenditure reporting, public procurement transparency and audit processes.
The assessment is contained in a report by the United States Department of State, which reviewed Nigeria’s fiscal transparency practices in its 2026 fiscal transparency report for countries published on Tuesday.
The report noted that the US government stated that Nigeria made some key fiscal documents available to the public, significant shortcomings remained in the disclosure of budgetary information and the management of public finances.
The report noted that “the government made its enacted budget and end-of-year report widely and easily accessible to the public, including online, but did not publish its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period.”
It also stated that while the Nigerian government had made information concerning the country’s debt obligations publicly available, its budget documents failed to provide a comprehensive picture of government revenues and expenditures.
“The government made information on debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt, publicly available, but budget documents did not provide a substantially complete picture of the government’s revenues and expenditures, or break down expenditures to support executive offices in the budget,” the report stated.
The US government further raised concerns about discrepancies between Nigeria’s approved budget and the actual revenues and expenditures recorded during implementation.
It said, “Actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget.”
The report also criticised the country’s supreme audit institution, stating that it did not meet international standards of independence and did not publish substantive reports, although it had access to the entire executed budget.
“The supreme audit institution did not meet international standards of independence or publish substantive reports but did have access to the entire executed budget,” it stated.
The assessment, however, acknowledged that Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund had an adequate legal framework and disclosed information about its funding and the general approach to withdrawals.History
“The sovereign wealth fund had a sound legal framework and disclosed its source of funding and general approach to withdrawals,” the US government said.
The World Bank Group is supporting the expansion of Africa’s digital commerce infrastructure to help small businesses reach new markets, create jobs, and strengthen economic opportunities across the continent.
Through Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, the investment is expected to enable approximately 60,000 local annual active sellers to participate more fully in the digital economy, support around 1,800 direct jobs, and create income-generating opportunities for more than 100,000 independent sales agents.
As digital commerce continues to grow across Africa, reliable access to online marketplaces, logistics networks, and digital payments are becoming increasingly important for entrepreneurs and small businesses seeking to expand beyond local markets. Strengthening this infrastructure can help firms increase sales, improve productivity, and connect consumers with a wider range of affordable goods and services.
To support this effort, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is investing US$25 million in equity in Jumia Technologies AG (Jumia), Africa’s largest public e-commerce platform. The investment will support Jumia’s next phase of growth across its core African markets, strengthening its integrated marketplace and logistics network.
By expanding access to digital commerce tools and services, the investment will help businesses grow, improve price transparency, and contribute to more inclusive and resilient private sector development across Africa.
“The support of the World Bank Group is a milestone for Jumia and for African e-commerce more broadly. It validates both the discipline we have brought to our business in recent years and the tangible impact our platform has on small businesses, jobs, and consumers across our eight markets. With partners like the IFC, we can accelerate the digital commerce infrastructure Africa needs” said Francis Dufay, CEO of Jumia.
“Jumia demonstrates how pan-African e-commerce platforms can expand economic opportunity at scale. Our investment supports the company’s next phase of growth while contributing to create jobs, digitizing supply chains and distributions channels and mobilizing private investment” said Farid Fezoua, Director for Equity, Funds, and Venture Capital at the International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group.
Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has cautioned the public against fake recruitment offers and fraudulent employment letters circulating in the agency’s name.
Eniola Akinkuotu, head of Media and Corporate Communications of the Commission, stated that NUPRC has received reports of counterfeit and AI-generated appointment letters bearing names not known to the regulator.
The Commission also said fraudsters have been extorting money from jobseekers by promising placement within the agency.
NUPRC has reported the incidents to law enforcement and said investigations are underway.
The regulator reiterated that there is no ongoing recruitment exercise and warned members of the public not to make any payments for supposed job offers.
“Whenever the Commission decides to recruit, the process will be conducted strictly in accordance with extant laws and government regulations,” the statement said.
The Commission urged jobseekers to verify any purported offer and to rely only on official NUPRC communications for recruitment information.
The warning follows growing concerns about the misuse of digital tools, including artificial intelligence, to fabricate apparently authentic documents that can deceive the public.
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