Women should put their multi-tasking ability into business– Ogbe

Ene Cynthia Ogbe is the CEO of ECO Group of Companies. She is a serial entrepreneur who works in the construction and interior decoration sector and also owns an academy. Her NGO, ECO Care Welfare Foundation, provides mentorship for women entrepreneurs and caters for indigent girls. She tells us more:      What is your […]

Ene Cynthia Ogbe is the CEO of ECO Group of Companies. She is a serial entrepreneur who works in the construction and interior decoration sector and also owns an academy. Her NGO, ECO Care Welfare Foundation, provides mentorship for women entrepreneurs and caters for indigent girls. She tells us more:   

 

What is your educational background?

My name is Ene Cynthia Ogbe. I have a master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from ABU Zaria and a degree in Mass Communication from Benue State University. And when I wanted to get serious with business, I went to Enterprise Development Centre of PAN Atlantic University, Lagos were I got a certificate in entrepreneur management. 

I started out with interior decoration and other businesses and my account was in the red. I tried establishing a restaurant, and then tailoring too and a kiddies bookshop but it did not work. All these businesses did not give me that stable income. 

Then in 2010, I asked myself, why do the men excel more than me when we operate under the same economic indices? What came to my mind were the businesses that women delve into. So, I zeroed it down to three different businesses:  there is construction, oil and gas and then telecommunication. The easiest for me to pick that time was construction because I had to go into partnership and lease with a company that had construction machine. That is how I started with construction and interior decorations. That gave me the breakthrough.

But five years later, I realised that money was not everything for me any longer. I wanted to make impact and influence people positively. I realised that making that impact was about creating value and adding value to people’s lives.  So , I set up an NGO, ECO Care Welfare Foundation, through which we cater for the needs of single parents and their kids. 

Recently, our flagship programme was registering indigent girls for WAEC and NECO. We did that for 40 students who are presently writing NECO. This is apart from the tuition that we have being paying for some. Then we started what we call the Wealth Triple Initiative for rural women. We don’t give them cash. We establish a business for them after interacting with them to know their needs. For some we establish provision store, some sell bean cake, masa, pap and so on. We have done it for about 100 women though our target is 150 women over a period of five years. We have done it for two years for rural women in the FCT. 

We don’t just establish the business, we teach them financial intelligence and how to imbibe the culture of saving. We get them to open an account with a microfinance bank and do remittance into that account.  We are happy to see them economically empowered. Some of the women are not educated but they have a sense of liberation.

As an entrepreneur, what would you say you have learnt over the years? 

For me, I have learnt that if you wait for everything to be perfect, you have started too late. Women have the tendency to analyse a lot but if you are not careful, you get discouraged. Because you may just highlight the problems and not see the benefits if the business. When people say what if I fail, I say to them, what if I succeed. I tell women we are blessed by God to multi-task. A woman naturally, has the ability to multi-task. You have ability to be a wife, mother, daughter and in-law without you crashing. Imagine putting that ability into your business. If you are able to do that the tendency for you to succeed is very high. But most women are limited by their thoughts and mind set. 

I did not get into business by choice, it was circumstantial. I became a single mother of three and I had the responsibility to take care of three children.  So, I did not have any other alternative. The only alternative is for me to work. 

You need to be hardworking; you need to be persistent; you need clarity of purpose. This is what made me go to the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos. You can not undermine the essence of self-development. And like I said, you must not learn this in school, you can read a book and you will be surprised that you are well informed. At least read one book a month. 

I am a serial entrepreneur and I am an enterprise coach. I help people to learn more and have higher return on investment. I play in the construction and interior decoration industry, I play in the knowledge space which I am passionate about.  We have Eco Academy and Ene Eco integrated business system where we mentor and coach people, especially women.

ECO Academy handles corporate trainings and I also have ECO Couture which is the feminine aspect of me. In interior decoration, we furnish offices and residential houses as well.  I am also in the core construction company as well as the interior decor part of it. 

Tell us more about Ene Eco Care Foundation?

Ene Eco is where we help women SMEs work on their business system and structure. We do this through training, mentorship and coaching. We get them to come to us as a group and to subscribe to us for mentorship. And the coaching session is one-on-one. I have noticed that what some women want is just a push.  Naturally, that you are a woman, you are a strong person. I will say to every woman that its not about physical strength but the application of the little things you know. Stay focused and have clarity of purpose. 

Women should have generational impact and global relevance. Learn to take one step at a time. Remember, maintain your lane because you are not in competition with anybody. What you are called to do is different from what the next person is called to do. So if we have more collaborations and synergy, we will make more progress. 

I started what I call, Women Incubators or W Incubators  and it’s for CEOs. A forum were women entrepreneurs assess their businesses – the structures, how far they have gone and the challenges. We read one book each month. We have one woman on the hot seat whom we x-ray and grill on her business. And we study a successful entrepreneur and learn from the indices that make her successful.  Everyone of us is doing phenomenal things and is doing well because of this support system. We tell ourselves the truth. For instance, we can tell someone ‘though you failed here, you are strong in this other aspect’. Hence we support each other this way. 

What will you say to women who feel they are hindered by finances?

From experience I can say, when you find clarity, the universe has a way of providing for you. When I started Eco Courture, I did not have the number of machines I have now, and I did not start up in Maitama, I started in the boys’ quarters in my house. I started with one machine for straight sewing and the other for weaving. In essence, I am saying start small; break it down and take a part at a time. 

For the construction business, I started in my house with my team i.e. the engineer, surveyor and others and we had discussions and then I fuelled my car and went in search of jobs. And when we got a major job, it gave us a breakthrough.  I do not forget the God factor because I am a woman helped by God.