At the beginning of this year, one
thing that took industry watchers by storm was the berthing of the Ausso
Leadership Academy (ALA) with a promise from the entrepreneurial elite of
Nigeria to harness their experiences under this umbrella in support of the
entrepreneurial ecosystem with personalized mentorship to maximize jobs created
by entrepreneurs by ensuring shared prosperity; inspired by the unprecedented
success in entrepreneurship at Silicon Valley, which underpins a strong
mentorship culture.
ITRealms sees this as a commendable
initiative by the founder, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), Mr. Austin Okere who
is the brain behind this academy, even as ALA aims at impacting at least 200
Entrepreneurs each year in cohorts of 40 per Masterclass, with the first
Masterclass coming on stream as early as April and for which registration has
commenced. Expectation is that the entrepreneurs will achieve double-digit
growth in their revenue a year after impact and would have imbibed a code of
governance and a culture of succession and legacy, anchored with the
partnership of duo of Messrs Mario Marconi and Martin Emordi of the African
Wealth Partners.
Accordingly, ALA’s vision as gathered
by ITRealms transcends innovative mindset, experiential learning, institutionalization
and scaling, co-inspiring networking, instilling ethical conduct, exposure to
capital opportunities and personalized mentoring, rounded up with the purpose
of mentoring entrepreneurs to institutionalize and scale their businesses
geometrically.
As noted by Okere, Nigeria is at a
point when the ecosystem is visibly maturing and entrepreneurial opportunities
are vastly increasing, hence, ALA’s goal is to drive economic development
through high-impact entrepreneurs, who will become a strong economic force that
can take advantage of the opportunities to transform the country; “One of the
cardinal principles of the Ausso Leadership Academy is to instill the mentality
of building a solid structure for the business with more emphasis on
Institutionalization than the concept of an All-Knowing Strongman; an erroneous
concept which has led to the demise of many enterprises after the departure of
the founder.”
For the records, Austin Okere was also
the founder of CWG Plc, the acclaimed largest security in the Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) sector at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Okere had subsequently honed his craft in Entrepreneurial Executive Education,
becoming an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Columbia Business School, New York and
being appointed into the Advisory Board of the Global Business School Network
(GBSN) in Washington DC.
On the inspiration for the setting up
the academy, Okere explained that being a serial entrepreneur, it was intuitive
for him to conceive the idea of the Ausso Leadership Academy and the unique
differentiation it offers. Asserting that “the first inspiration was what I
would have advised my younger self and the second inspiration was to be the
Mentor I wish I had.”
In addition, Okere noted that the huge
gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem is due to the lack of a personalized
mentorship programme to complement what professors teach entrepreneurs at
business schools.
Entrepreneurs are best mentored by other entrepreneurs who
understand the trailblazing journey and how to spot opportunities from
challenges and create new businesses for themselves and others. Therefore, the
need for resourcefulness and an innovative mindset to reinvent oneself when
disruption knocks on the door is a key skill which entrepreneurs need to
imbibe. ALA, thus, tends to provide the medium for veteran entrepreneurs to
pass on this experiential skill, emphasizing what has worked in their own journeys,
and the pitfalls to avoid.
The Champions of Entrepreneurship are
role models who reinvest their knowledge, credibility and time in the next
generation of entrepreneurs, thus multiplying their network and influence.
Among the Champions who will be sharing their experiences are Ibukun Awosika,
Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede, Tony Elumelu, John Momoh, Frank Aigbogun, Austin Avuru,
Dotun Suleiman, Ndidi Nwuneli, Ernest Ndukwe, Mitchel Elegbe, Charles Anudu,
Seyi Bickerseth and Deji Alli to mention a few.
The faculty on the other hand, is made
up of seasoned practitioners who have also honed their skills working with
entrepreneurs in various capacities, including Austin Okere, Chris Stephenson,
Opeyemi Agbaje and Rasheed Olaoluwa. On why he accepted, for instance, to be a
faculty at ALA, Chris said “Austin is one of Africa’s leading Tech
Entrepreneurs, and I’ve been working with him since 2010. I want to get behind
his exciting new venture and continue our partnership.”
And recommended the academy
to prospective participants because entrepreneurs need a clear vision and operational
plan with which to inspire colleagues, investors and other stakeholders; believing
the academy will bring participants up to wear their thinking caps, approaches,
tips and tricks that the faculty themselves all learnt the hard way. More
importantly, he said, it will provide them with the framework, network and
above all confidence for success, whatever their venture.
In his response, Opeyemi Agbaje, promises
to bring into the programme efforts at tackling corruption which must be recognized
with its socio-economic linkages, especially poverty and unemployment, thereby,
throwing up an effective and sustainable anti-corruption strategy to be
anchored in the context of an ambitious economic reform programme that creates
employment in large numbers to foster inclusive economic growth. This is what I
believe the Ausso Leadership Academy brings to the table and why I want to
contribute my quota.”
Rasheed Olawoluwa, on the other hand,
says “Entrepreneurial Leadership is incomplete without a Vision and a strong
ability to Influence People to get Results. This is what we aim to impart at
the Ausso Leadership Academy,” based on the fact that Ausso Leadership Academy
recognizes that capital is essential to scaling small businesses entered into
partnerships with investors including the African Wealth Partners AG of
Switzerland to offer opportunities for capital to entrepreneurs who
successfully articulate their growth plans.
It is clear that Ausso Leadership Academy as
conceptualized with partnership of the African Wealth Partners; has come to
stay, especially at this time of rise in unemployment to cushion some effects
at this recession period, despite claims that Nigeria has exited; thus it
deserves every support to make this dream a success, thereby reducing the
challenges even those who may have been affected with the recession and wish to
delve into entrepreneurship may face, thereby a great boost to economic
emancipation of the people of Nigeria., more so for 21st century
competitiveness.
Like Martin Emodi, the founding
partner of the Africa Wealth Partners, succinctly said, “We were seriously
impressed by the practical leadership development programme Mr. Okere is
putting together for Nigerian entrepreneurs. It is so important to give the
entrepreneurs the tools and support to take their businesses to the next level.
This will be good business for all involved but most importantly for the country
and its development.”
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