By Golok Nanmwa ,Jos 


The Jos Business School  on Wednesday  hosted  Dr Wiebe Boer, Managing Director of the  ALL On (an investment company owned by SHELL)   to a Business Lunch   .


Chief Executive Officer of Jos Business School, Dr. Ezekiel Gomos, said the aim of the lunch is  to enable Dr Boer to meet and exchange ideas, share experiences  with some members of the business community, especially entrepreneurs in Jos.



"We are here essentially to rub minds together in our journey towards building, a  more prosperous, productive and business-oriented Plateau State  based on  a resilient entrepreneurship ecosystem. 


He said the Jos Business  School  has always been creating  platforms  and  opportunities for entrepreneurs and business community in general  to expand their horizon and  drive  the growth of their businesses. 


Speaking during lunch, Dr Wiebe Boer , who  previously worked for Mckinsey & Co, and was the first Executive Director of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) was a founding principal of  the Nigerian Office of the  Boston Consulting Group in Lagos, shared his projections on likely economic, social and geopolitical trends for businesses in Plateau and Nigeria  .


He encouraged entrepreneurs in Plateau not to relent, in the face of current challenges and disruptions  facing businesses but be  focused and urged them to go into only the business they are passionate about.


In his words " You must make your business properly structured and ensure that you identify and  focus on your niche and not to wait for Government for funding of your businesses” .


One of the guests at the Business Lunch, Mr Danlami Gomwalk of the African Development Bank( AfDB) Abidjan, advised entrepreneurs to always consider issues of sustainability in their business decisions and  not to shirk their responsibilities  like business registration and tax business .


Our correspondent reports that the event which attracted over 20  young entrepreneurs/startups especially  in areas like agriculture and  ICT and was attended by Mr. David Daser, the  Director General of (PICTDA) and David Dung Dayi  CEO of  Jos-based Kim Coffee, Nigeria’s first  coffee processor, and Ms Zumunta Machunga-Disu CEO  of Guineapig a budding agro-enterprise, and Mr Job David Ayuba, CEO of Tomruk I-hub, Jos.  


A participant Yilchit Barde who spoke to our correspondent said " It's an invaluable experience for every start-up owner to glean wisdom nuggets from well informed Entrepreneurs like Dr Boer who have ran multimillion companies. 

She further added that "The highlight for her was hearing firsthand the issues most entrepreneurs face considering the Nigerian factors and also knowing that he built his first two start-ups in Jos, which gives her some confidence against the popular limiting belief about the geography.


In her words " I appreciate his zeal to share with us some tested and trusted success pointers” Miss Barde added.