‘I want to become an employer of at least 400 workers’

Can you introduce yourself?I hail from Adamawa State. I was born in 1973, I had my primary education at Lafiya Lamurde Local Government Grea of Adamawa State, I had my secondary school education at Government Secondary School, Numan also in Adamawa State then I proceeded to Plateau Polytechnic in Barkin Ladin where I had my […]

Can you introduce yourself?
I hail from Adamawa State. I was born in 1973, I had my primary education at Lafiya Lamurde Local Government Grea of Adamawa State, I had my secondary school education at Government Secondary School, Numan also in Adamawa State then I proceeded to Plateau Polytechnic in Barkin Ladin where I had my OND in business administration.
Are you working with your diploma certificate?
I was working with my certificate before in Savannah Sugar Company in Adamawa State. I left the company, hoping to go back to school but when there was no sponsor for me to further my education, I decided to engage myself in a private business.
So what kind of business do you do for a living?
I am into marketing of products. I have once worked with GNLD as a marketer, I have also worked as a marketer at a fertilizer company but presently, I produce and sell liquid detergents, hair shampoo, petroleum jelly and air freshener among others. The liquid detergent can be used for washing clothes, plates, cars, toilets as well as for mopping while the air freshener can be used at home and in offices.
How and where did you learn how to produce these products?
I learnt how to produce them from a friend of mine who resides in Lagos. He was into the business and he employed me to market the products for him. From there, I got the experience and started producing the products myself on a small scale before people began to know me and I started supplying homes, offices, to people who resell and hotels among others.
How much does it cost to start such a business?
If you want to start the business in a standard way, it may cost about N200, 000 because of the cost of getting a warehouse and the machinery that will be used for producing the products before you start thinking of registering the company because NAFDAC will definitely ask you to register to get a NAFDAC number. For me, due to insufficient fund, I am using local machinery and instrument in producing my products and also I wanted to register my own production company but because of financial constraints, I was not able to, so I am using an existing company of mine which I had earlier registered with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
When I started my own production, I started with only N60, 000 but I had challenges of renting a place where I produce the products, cost of mobility, moving from one place to the other to market the products.
How do you sell your products?
I sell in retail and wholesale but I make more sales in retailing. Wholesaling has a way of tying down my capital because some people don’t pay until they sell the product and because I don’t have financial backing, I find it difficult to advertise my products. I package the liquid detergent in litres, I have two, four and 25litres gallon respectively. I sell in cartons to people who will resell at N600 for 4 litres while they can resell at N800. For 25 litres which I mostly supply to hotels on demand, I sell at N4, 000 to N5, 000 depending on the bargaining power of the buyer while 2 litres is N350. I also make liquid detergent with menthol which costs N850 per litre for retailers who sell at N1, 000.
How do you source the materials you use in producing the liquid detergent?
There are chemicals available here in Kaduna, but sometimes, we experience scarcity, what we do since I am not the only one producing such product is to contribute money and send someone to Lagos to buy the chemical for us.
What are the major challenges associated with this business?
The major challenge is finance. I don’t have capital. If I have the capital, I would have gone far because there is virtually no place I have not been to in the North but due to financial constraint, I cannot go far with my business because from the little profit I make, I pay my house rent, transportation, feed my wife and children.
How much do you make as profit in this business?
I cannot tell categorically but at times I make an average profit of N20,000 to N25,000 monthly.
Do you have a plan to go back to school?
I so much desire to go back to school but I do not have a sponsor, I will have to sponsor myself which I cannot afford from my little earning because I know, I will not find it easy if I try to do that now with my present status. If I get someone to sponsor me, I will go to the highest level I can get to in academics.
What is your dream in life?
My dream in life is to study very well and then establish a very big production company where people will come and work. Then I will be producing all my products on a large scale. I want a situation whereby not less than 400 people will be employed in my company. My desire is to become an employer of labour.
Have you had access to any kind of loan before and are you aware of the YouWin programme?
 I have heard about a microfinance bank in Zaria, I cannot remember the name. I tried but it didn’t work out. I was told by the manager of the bank that they don’t give men money because they are defaulters. I am not aware of any government loan and I do not also know about the YouWin programme but since I know about the YouWin now, I will make sure I participate maybe I can be lucky. In fact, if I can get a white collar job now, I will do it just to expand my business; though if I am asked to choose between a white collar job and fund to expand my business, I will choose fund to expand my business because I really love what I am doing, it’s just that I am constrained by finance.
What is your call to government?
Like I said earlier, if the opportunity is given to me, I am going to be productive because if I have had support earlier in life, I would have gone very far. So my call to government is that they should cultivate the habit of supporting young business owners especially those that are zealous about their work. If government assist people like me to stand firm in our businesses, we will also give back to the society by creating employment.