•L-R: Kyari, Olubi, Kennedy, Parkes, Cole Mide-Akinlaja
The spirit of enterprise smiled on a young Nigerian, Iyeh Kennedy, on Sunday when he emerged winner of the 2017 edition of the Next Titan TV Reality Show. The herbs and spice cultivator beat three other finalists to win the N5m star prize and a brand new Ford car.
The other finalists are Adenike Ogundoro, Dioka Samuel and Amaka Nworah.
At the grand finale held at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, the Titan judges drilled the contestants as they needed to be convinced that their businesses or business ideas are worth staking N5m and the pleasure ride on.
The judges – Kyari Bukar, Tonye Cole, Lillian Olubi and Chris Parkes – are all accomplished entrepreneurs, making it difficult for any of the young dreamers to bamboozle them. Indeed, the Titan’s wise men, at a point, almost contemplated not crowning any of the candidates, as they (judges) had issues with two critical areas of the finalists’ business development agenda: business plan and financial projection.
According to them, the guys have relatively promising ventures, but in their presentations at the programme, they failed woefully in the two key areas. As a result, the finalists were made to defend their proposals twice, a decision that made the event to further eat into the night. That was even after the contestants had subjected one another’s projects to fierce scrutiny, through the questions they asked one another.
While Nike took to the house a cake business, Amaka tried her luck with her shoemaking business. Samuel is into the production of eco-friendly bags, while, on the platform of his company called Blue Flame, Kennedy is gunning to produce green spice. At the end of the day, the judges decided to invest their hope in the Blue Flame’s venture, especially as Kennedy seemed to have made the most inspiring presentation.
While Nike was also commended for her presentation style, she and Amaka, according to the judges, have peculiar challenges bordering on not being able to bring something new or unique into their trades, so that it can have a ‘wao!’ effect. Samuel has a consolation on his part: Parkes so much believes in the potential of his idea that he promised to assist him even after the competition.
While Cole expressed embarrassment at the way the guys flung figures, Olubi said, “You guys are all winners. But your assumptions about market are raw. Also, we were expecting you to explain in your presentation what you have done so far, how much you need etc. This is for all of you: Don’t use these business plans to move on. You are making assumptions as if you are the only one in the market.”
The producer of the competition, Mr. Mide Kunle-Akinlaja, expressed delight at its success, saying it was building the entrepreneurial spirits among youths while also contributing to the economic development of the country. He thanked the sponsors – Unity Bank, Sifax Group, Coscharis Motors and others – for making the Next Titan show happen again.
Kunle-Akinlaja said, “We are demystifying entrepreneurship. We are promoting entrepreneurial spirits in young Nigerians. So, the Next Titan is a life-changing phenomenon and we are happy that all our past winners are doing greatly in their various businesses.”
The Divisional Head, Corporate Banking, Heritage Bank, Mr. Kehinde Olugbemi, who represented the bank’s managing director, applauded the organisers and participants. He noted that Heritage Bank had continued to sponsor the show because it believed in transferring wealth across generations.
Also, the Executive Director, Human Resources and Admin at Sifax Group, Dr. Fola Rojas, congratulated the finalists. She said that the fact that they were shortlisted showed their brilliance and creativity. While commending Kunle-Akinlaja and his team for their steadfastness at organising the programme, she explained that Sifax’s participation was rooted in its philosophy of being socially relevant.
For the General Corporate Manager, Coshcaris Group, Abiona Babarinde, all the four finalists are winners. He said the company had the tradition of being part of projects that could teach people how to catch fish.
The event was spiced with music while it also gave participants and guests an opportunity to network.
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