Bulls n Bears Entrepreneurship Zone :: The journey so far: Collins Onuegbu, executive vice chairman, Signal Alliance

[Bulls n Bears]

 <http://www.nedbank.co.zw/> 

 

 

 

Collins Onuegbu is the founder and the executive vice chairman of Signal
Alliance, a Nigerian IT service provider and an end-to-end system
integrator. Signal Alliance has subsidiaries and affiliates in technology
investment (Sasware), healthtech (Medismart), renewable energy (Nemoante),
enterprise IT (Codeware) and fintech (CompexAfrica).


1. Tell us about one of the toughest situations you’ve found yourself in as
a business owner.


Our business has been around for over 20 years. The biggest challenge
technology companies face is the pace of innovation and change in the
industry. Twenty years is multiple generations in the industry and companies
that fail to evolve through one generation to the next in the industry
struggle and fail.

This has been the biggest challenge for me as a founder: navigating the
company through the fast change that must come. Some of these changes have
wiped out once dominant players. To keep ahead and keep growing, the
solution has been to understand that this change is coming whether you like
it or not. And instead of fighting, embrace and lead the change. The
important thing is what your customers want. It’s simple to say but
challenging to make the changes required to implement this constant state of
innovation and change.


2. Which business achievement are you most proud of?


In Africa, the business environment is the biggest challenge for any
entrepreneur. Surviving the rough terrain of African business is an
achievement for any African entrepreneur who has survived for decades. In
Nigeria, my company has seen dictatorships, democracy, recession, boom and
bust. And we have renewed ourselves and today the company is a leader in its
business, and in some circles its model is being followed for corporate
sustainability.


3. Describe your greatest weakness as an entrepreneur.


My greatest weakness is restlessness. As an entrepreneur there is a time to
build and a time to manage what you have built. I want to build new things
and, in an industry that’s ever evolving, there is always something new to
build. The challenge is having someone run what you have built. In my case,
I had a co-founder who was the opposite – wanting stability with what’s
built.

This created some balance, which was not without its frustrations. But in
the end, it was the best for the company.


4. Which popular entrepreneurial advice do you disagree with?


I don’t agree with a one size fits all for the entrepreneur journey. I
believe everyone’s journey is unique. I mentor young organisations and
founders, and I worry that they adopt standardised playbooks that sometimes
have no relationship to their journey. Most of these are adopted from
playbooks of companies whose founders sometimes did not really know what
they were doing at the onset of their own journey but became successful
nonetheless.

We cannot, for example, turn what made Google a success into a standard
playbook for all new companies starting out their journeys.


5. Is there anything you wish you knew about entrepreneurship before you
got started?


I wish I knew what I know now when I was starting. But then if I knew,
would I have taken the risk? As I said, entrepreneurship is a journey. Time
and experience teach you along the way. There are some things I would have
done long before I did them. Some I would have avoided. Some risks I would
have taken much earlier. But I think it’s the same thing as the life
journey. You get wiser with experience. Mistakes, pains and triumphs are all
part of the learning process.


6. Name a business opportunity you would still like to pursue.


Africa is not yet built. And wherever you look, you see problems that need
solving – from manufacturing, trade and aviation to tourism and
transportation. I believe the challenge is for policymakers to help Africa
start the journey to solve its problems to allow the continent to thrive.

We have a youth population that wants to work and innovate. Solving the
challenges that will make them drive the growth of the continent presents
several multibillion-dollar opportunities for entrepreneurs. But
policymakers must give support to improve the environment for doing
business.

I am interested in the reversal of outside-the-continent education, tourism
and healthcare. These are opportunities for the continent’s entrepreneurs,
but the right environment must be created.Howwmadeitinafrica



Collins Onuegbu

 

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

Telephone:    <tel:%2B263%204%202927658> +263 4 2927658

Cellphone:      <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 77 344 1674

Alt. Email:    <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw  

Website:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AF
QjCNH8LYgdY55h-XKseuM8Kpr-JKdfhQ> www.bulls.co.zw 

Blog:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw%2Fblog&sa=D&sntz=1
&usg=AFQjCNFoIy6F9IXAiYnSoPSgWDYsr8Sqtw> www.bulls.co.zw/blog

Twitter:                  @bullsbears2010

LinkedIn:               Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe

Facebook:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimba
bwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA>
www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

 

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: winmail.dat
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 112404 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190128/4891c637/attachment-0001.bin>