Key points
- Entrepreneur Mrs Anike Adeniran has encouraged Nigerian youths to embrace entrepreneurship and avoid despising small beginnings.
- She shared her personal journey from starting a provisions business with ₦20,000 to building a thriving enterprise with daily sales of about ₦30,000.
- Adeniran urged graduates to remain resilient and explore legitimate business opportunities despite economic challenges.
Main story
An entrepreneur, Mrs Anike Adeniran, has called on Nigerian youths to embrace entrepreneurship and develop a culture of self-reliance, stressing the importance of starting small and remaining consistent in business growth.
Adeniran made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, where she shared her personal experience and the challenges she faced in building her business.
She advised young people, particularly graduates, to remain resilient in the face of economic hardship and to look beyond their present circumstances in order to identify legitimate income-generating opportunities.
Recalling her journey, Adeniran explained that she started her provisions business with a capital of ₦20,000, displaying goods on a table in front of her residence as she could not afford to rent a shop.
After more than a decade of working as a teacher in private schools, she said she left the profession due to low income and the need to support her family financially.
“I am a graduate, a wife and a mother. My teaching job was not enough because I needed to support my husband, so I resigned and ventured into business,” she said.
According to her, the business began a year ago with minimal capital and no formal shop, but has since grown significantly.
“I started the business a year ago with just ₦20,000 and no shop. I bought goods, displayed them on a table and converted part of the entrance to my house into a shop,” she explained.
Adeniran added that her business now has goods worth over ₦300,000, with daily sales averaging at least ₦30,000.
She encouraged youths not to be discouraged by challenges but to remain committed to hard work, discipline and prudent financial management.
“God encourages us not to despise little beginnings. I started with a small capital and, by God’s grace, my story has changed,” she said.
She further urged young Nigerians to ignore discouragement and remain focused on their goals, stressing that persistence and determination are key to business success.
The issues
The story highlights the growing economic pressures facing Nigerian youths, particularly graduates struggling with unemployment and low wages. It also underscores the increasing shift towards entrepreneurship as a survival strategy in a challenging economic environment.
What’s being said
Adeniran’s experience reflects a broader narrative of grassroots entrepreneurship in Nigeria, where individuals are increasingly turning to small-scale businesses to achieve financial independence.
She emphasised that success is achievable through consistency, discipline and starting with available resources rather than waiting for large capital.
What’s next
The call adds to ongoing national conversations about youth empowerment, job creation and entrepreneurship development, with stakeholders continuously urging government and private sector support for small businesses.
Bottom line
Adeniran’s story reinforces the message that sustainable success in business often begins with small, determined steps, and that resilience remains key for Nigerian youths navigating economic uncertainty.
