Success Story of Stream-1 of Jos-2021 Customer Service Clinic Part 1-of-3

On BU$I₦£$$ DIG£$T this morning, March 29, 2021

The success of the just concluded first ever Customer Service Clinic didn’t come without rejection of our proposals and offer.

As promised I will share one of the rejections(feedback).

I visited the MD of a micro financial institution, he clearly told me that I am not qualified to train their staff, since I dont have a banking experiences, that they only allow experienced former bankers to train their staff. While he was speaking I listened and smiled. When I finished I just told him, I have 13 years core banking operations experience in Nigeria with 3 commercial banks in Nigeria and I exited banking in 2017 as Branch Head of Operations.

Immediately, he adjusted his facemask downwards, he was surprised. He then went ahead to say that such trainer must be certified with Industrial Training Fund as a Consultant/Trainer since they have some regulatory oversight on training and capacity building over them. I smiled and told him, I am a Curriculum Development Consultant with the ITF since 2019 and have trained ITF Staff since 2019 as well.

That was when he removed the facemask completely. He was then like, am I based in Plateau State or I came from Abuja? I told him I have lived in Jos, Plateau State for over 14 years.

His feedback as a rejection was simply because they either have exceeded their training budget for the month or they had other engagement, but was looking for a professional ground to reject my offer.

This typically happens to many of us in the Learning and Development Industry, so the need for continuous development.

He was shocked when I told him those that will be present. As I speak, I will still propose to him that of November, 2021

If you learnt anything from this, kindly share with someone out there.

Yours-In-Entrepreneurship
Dr. Emmanuel Idenyi Shaibu
animn, ace, f.hcd, f.dss, m.frcn, fimc, cmc, cms, FAiPA, DPA
The Millennium Entrepreneur
http://www.emmabglobalconcept.org
MakingAMarkGlobally

7CORE

BEHAVIOUS for Honorable Leadership

To lay successful *Entrepreneurship and value based Leadership Education Foundation* promoting cooperative relationships and empowering entrepreneurs.

WHY WILL THERE NOT BE FRAUD IN THE BANKS?

As discussed yesterday, the casualisation of bank staff is one of the major reasons for the continuous fraud in the banks.

Another reason is the poor welfare of these staff and the unequal treatment with other core staff.

Another reason is the the lack of water-tight control system. A staff that is on contract and left on a particular desk for too long or left in a particular branch for too long can eventually be so used to the system and beat the control measures once there is an opportunity to do so and commit fraud.

Suffice it to say that, a lot of frauds are going on not reported by the banks, they are handled by the Internal Control Unit.

If you learnt anything from this, kindly share with someone out there.

How has the Nigeria Economy fared so far?

FRAUD IN THE BANKING SECTOR

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, reported last week, that Nigerian Banks lost ₦264.5bn to fraudsters in 45 months.

According to their records;
₦204.65bn in 2019, ₦38.93bn in 2018, and ₦12.01bn in 2017.

The report said 52,754 cases were reported in 2020.

These are cases that were reported and escalated by banks.
In many cases, they are either underreported or not reported at all.

It was further stated that 87% of this fraud happened in just 11 banks.

According to the report, 49.78% of the fraud are ATM and ATM Card related fraud, followed by 21.02% web-based and internet fraud.

What are the reasons for banking fraud?

Tomorrow’s Business Digest post will address one of the major reasons.

If you learnt anything from this, kindly share with someone out there.

How has the Nigeria Economy fared so far?

On BU$I₦£$$ DIG£$T this morning, March 12, 2021

I FEEL SO SAD RIGHT NOW!☹️🙁😰

I think there is a new PONZI SCHEME in town introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

It is the “Dollar 4 Naira” Scheme which is meant to be an incentive for recipients of US Dollars inflow from the diaspora into Nigeria.

What do you need to do?

Just be a legitimate recipient of US Dollars from “The Abroad” and you will get paid ₦5.00 for every $1 received.

So, if $10,000 is sent and received, you will be paid ₦50,000 cash.

Which accounting entries will be passed?

Where will the CBN debit to reimburse these banks after such incentives have been paid?

Will there be any reconciliation of these entries or proof of accounts?

I can tell you, banks FINCON Department would have created a General Ledger (GL) that will be debited in their various branches.

And this promo runs for two months; 8 March, 2021 to 8 May, 2021.

Rush now why offer lasts.

Terms and Conditions apply.

If you learnt anything from this, kindly share with someone out there.

Of Ponzi Schemes and Pyramid Schemes

Continuing from yesterday, I received some tremendous feedback regarding the above subject matter.

One thing that worries me is that the passion with which people go about marketing Ponzi Schemes, that same passion can actually be used to market the genuine ones, you will learn what you aren’t taught in any conventional school about business and network marketing.

The learning curve in network marketing is enormously free especially when you sign up, buy the products, use the services provided and attend their trainings(physical and virtual)

Some of us have lost monies to such schemes before, but we learnt and moved on.

Are you about to join another one? Check it out, it might be a Pyramid Scheme as well. Anything that builds traffic into it, without an exit, you need to be watchful.

If you know it will crash and still want to play a fast one to cash out, you are most to be pitied.

The irony however is, people will still fall for these schemes even with all these messages. In your best interest, keep off.

There is what I call Ponzi questions or pyramid questions that people ask.

They will say, if I join now, when will I start earning money? I usually answer when you start working. No work, no pay, PERIOD

Another question is, if I join with xyz amount how much will I earn to recoup my money, that is still a ponzi mindset.

Network Marketing is a journey and lifestyle not a destination.

I know someone who moved from Longrich to Oriflame to Cellgevity, then SuperLife, I don’t know where the person is now. What was the issue, I can’t talk to people, but you can gist and you are a lecturer?

Be ready unlearn to relearn and learn if you want to make money, it is that deliberate.

If you learnt anything from this, kindly share with someone out there.

Of Ponzi Schemes and Pyramid Schemes

Last week the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Nigeria said 3million Nigerians lost ₦18billion to Ponzi Schemes. This is humongous right?
But I tell you the figures are higher than that and there are a lot of losses the SEC is not even aware of.

The truth is, there are more genuine MLM, Direct Sales and Network Marketing companies doing businesses than these other fraudulent schemes, the reason for attraction is very simple.

People are not patient to grow wealth and build something sustainable. They are quick to say let my money work for me.

Here is what people don’t know, if you have sincerely and genuinely worked for money, you will realise you need to be more careful to put money where it will replicate itself. Our crave for quick fixes as a people have become pathological, so much so that someone who is growing wealth gradually is usually seen as a slack.

I have said in my Financial Literacy (FL) classes, “you don’t make money desperately, you make money deliberately.”

The most shocking part is when you hear people say, they know a schemes is fraudulent and will crash, but as long as they cash out before the crash, they have recouped their investment, they are fine. That is so demonic and ungodly.

Genuine Schemes will not pay out outrageous money that is not commensurate with work of signing up people and growing your network.

We should turn a new leaf and develop the discipline to be patient with the growth of business, wealth creation comes with serious work.

The higher your investments and deliberate hard work, the more genuine Credit Alerts you will get from the business. Choose to do the right business and do it rightly.
THESE ARE NOT TIMES TO LOSE MONEY FOR BEING CARELESS!

If you learnt anything from this, kindly share with someone out there.

International Women’s Day

March 8, 2021 ****************************

Today is widely celebrated and recognised as International Women’s Day and we at EMMAB, stand with all the women of the world on this occasion like never before and as we have always done.

This year’s theme “Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 World.” very apt and can’t be truer as our women world over needs to be in leadership positions more than ever before. Because they are at the receiving end of almost every negative things in life, the narrative of “its a man’s world” is even louder, sadly by women.

¶Women are more in population; ¶Women suffer more during crises and unrest; ¶Women tend to do more menials jobs; ¶Women also suffer more GBV in our society; ¶When you organise business trainings, women are more; ¶When you organise psychology or mental health training, women are more; ¶When you are organise financial literacy training they are more; ¶Women are more in the Network Marketing and MLM businesses, even a beauty product company started by two men in Sweden, women are more in it than men;…and this list is endless!

Does this therefore not suggest we need to empower them more deliberately and the support should come from the men’s folk? Its being said that, Psychology has proven that women are more resilient, more financially literate, more emotional, more intuitive, more homely and so on.

In Nigeria, I know of at least 3 commercial banks whose Chairmen of their board of directors are women, solidly doing well. I also know at least 5 commercial banks whose head of Human Resource, Human Capital Management are being headed by women. I know a bank whose Acting MD is currently a women. They may be women, but they can do more and be more.

If you learnt anything from this, kindly share with someone out there._ __________________________________ Yours-In-Entrepreneurship*Dr. Emmanuel Idenyi Shaibu*_ _animn, ace, f.hcd, f.dss, m.frcn, fimc, cmc, cms, FAiPA, DPA_ The Millennium Entrepreneur http://www.emmabglobalconcept.org *MakingAMarkGlobally*

The Growth and Development of Currencies.

There is no doubt that the US Dollar($) is the primary currency of trade in the World; yes you read correctly.

There are other dollars such as the Australian and Canadian, but the US Dollar is most powerful of all.

Foreign Reserves for nations are held in US Dollars and that speaks a lot for the stable nature of the currency($)

I am one of those who believe that if not for the holding of foreign reserves in US Dollars, the US economy would have been overtaken by other economies of the world, such as China and Japan.

That being said, do you know that US Dollar 💵💸 has lost 95% of its value since 1913?

Do you also know that the Nigerian Naira💳 has, as well, lost 94% of it’s value since 1999?

Can you imagine the difference?!

What is responsible for this, you might ask?

Does Nigeria have sound and sustainable Monetary and Fiscal Policies to backup and grow the economy?

Is the economy sincerely grown around institutions rather than personalities?

What is the knowledge of how Nigeria borrows; the GDP to debt ratio, the population growth vis-à-vis the growth of the economy to be able to cater for the humongous difference?

What is the state of the nation’s
infrastructure and how are they maintained and managed over the years?

Many more questions beg for answers?

The devaluation of the current kind of currencies is what has given rise to Digital Currencies.

Sadly, most people in support of Digital Currencies, especially in Nigeria, are still very naive and don’t even understand the fiat currencies. The attraction for them is the encryption, low charges and the Person to Person (P2P) possibility.

The question then, is, do you think any Government of the world would allow a currency run concurrently with its present legal tender without any form of regulations?

If you, perhaps think the Central Bank of Nigeria for instance, doesn’t understand Crytocurrency, you are wrong.

What the Vice President of Nigeria said, wasn’t new at all; many of us in the Cryptocurrency Space had advocated regulation since August 2017 and proposed that to the CBN, but until the CBN and all stakeholders come up with a regulation that will give them the dashboard opportunity to monitor inflows and outflow, we may not be ready.
That intrinsically, is what most Cryptocurrency proponents do not want or are happy cannot be traced.

For anything to qualify as a legal tender, it must meet certain conditions and the Financial Systems Stability of a nation is part of what is being considered to give such approval.

Yes, Nigeria maybe slow in its moves and drives, but that is why we are where we are. I never expected it to receive express and unhindered approval, no way! 🤞🤞🤞

A Legal tender is anything recognized by law as a means to settle a public or private debt or meet a financial obligation, including tax payments, contracts, and legal fines or damages. A creditor is legally obligated to accept legal tender toward repayment of a debt. Whatever that thing is, MUST be backed up by law and generally and absolutely accepted.

Therefore, every and anything that has qualified as an acceptable means of exchange for Financial Transaction since inception, satisfied the following conditions:

¶Validity
¶Legality
¶Acceptability

This big question is:

Is Cryptocurrency Valid?

Is Cryptocurrency Legal?

Is Cryptocurrency Acceptable?

All these MUST be in place within the territorial integrity of a nation, to qualify as a Legal Tender.

A legal tender is not like a payment system where you have options, so it may not pass to make such comparison.

A nation must see it as valid before it can be accepted as a Legal Tender, otherwise, it is an affront to the current legal tender of any nation.

So, acceptability and usage lies solely on what the CBN permits within the ambit of its admissibility

Our hope and desire is, that proper regulation be put in place soon.
The Apex Bank wants to keep tabs on illicit financial flows and money laundering. If these still go undetected under this regulated economy, a free for all option will be much worse.

Rounding off on this week’s series, I deliberately didn’t tag any as part 1, 2 or so, because I don’t want to get you boxed up into a mole as it were.

Be that as it may, I got some feedback from the broadcasts especially that of yesterday where I mentioned Crytocurrency and the conditions anything MUST qualify to be a Legal Tender.

Some responses were emotionally laced rather than understanding the matter at stake.

Earlier in the week, I said the US Dollar which is the primary currency of trade in the world, is first Legal Tender in US and widely accepted for transactions even in Nigeria.

You can walk into a shop on Ahmadu Bello Way, in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos and pay for a transaction with the US Dollars and it will be accepted. Can that be said of the Canadian Dollar or Australian Dollar? Your answer is as good as mine. Which other currency of the world enjoys a universal acceptability as the USD, may be the GBP and EUR. What of the Nigeria-China Currency Swap? How far with that highly celebrated agreement made few years ago?

Why are people storing monetary value more in US Dollars than the Naira or any other currency of the world?

It is because of its Validity, Legality and Acceptability.

Sadly it is still another country’s currency primarily and I tell you, you cannot trade with naira in the US or UAE, not even in our neighbouring Cotonou where we go to buy tokunbo cars.

Let’s get this understanding of the evolution of currencies and legal tender. Nigerians are the ones killing the naira, the fiscal and monetary policies are not yet there and until we start strengthening the Naira it will keep falling. Our Economy is still largely imported dependent, even though some concerted effort to grow our exports have not measured up.

Even the Crytocurrency that is being pushed forward, you still have to do a cross rate exchange with US Dollars and not the Naira, or any other currency.

For the records, I have invested in Cryptocurrency since 2017 alongside many others and lost a good amount of money, but this doesn’t change the fact that we are evolving and we hope the Managers of our Economy will do the needful ASAP.

If you learnt anything from this, kindly share with someone out there.

HOW CEOs, FOUNDERS, BUSINESS OWNERS MAKE BUSINESSES FAIL IN NIGERIA Part-3of5

On BU$I₦£$$ DIG£$T this morning, February 24, 2021

Olajide Abiola wrote last week:

“As a good business leader, you must know how to hire good hands, care for and retain good hands, and fire bad hands or those who go rogue.”

You should not be good in one and bad in another.

You shouldn’t be good at firing and bad at hiring, neither should you be good at hiring and bad at firing.”

The above was written by a friend on the blue app. He is also a Founder, CEO and Business Owner in the Nigeria system and as such, he wrote from huge experience.

I have decided to share it for us to also glean from.

Some CEOs are so weak that they can’t deal with or reprimand a staff. They change attitude and want you to come begging at every opportunity; they deliberately avoid you and say you are avoiding them.

DON’T BE A NICE CEO, BE A KIND ONE!

“Humility is the first step towards learning. You cannot learn until you are humble enough to realize there is something for you to learn.”- Robert Kiyosaki

Without humility your arrogance prevents you from learning. You are too good to learn. It is hardest to learn when someone is teaching something you disagree with.

Remember, you can learn from anything.

I have come to learn that there are three sides to every coin:

-the head,
-the tail,
-the edge.

The edge is where humility is found. It is listening to opposing ideas and opinions without judging and with humility.

It is not easy, but few important things are with humbleness.

So the question is, why does humility seem difficult for some Business Leaders?

-the money they have made!

-the social capital they control!

-the knowledge they have!

Mind you none of these three above is absolute, you can have them and still be humble to learn more.

Now, note that if you are ready to learn, and you are willing to accept the humility required to learn, then consider taking the next advice and look at it objectively.

Coach Sam Obafemi wrote earlier in the week and it aligns with what I have written on this matter:

“HOW TO BE A STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEUR.

I think one of the mistakes many business owners, or those who desire to do business, make is the assumption that they need to do ONLY ONE THING so that their business will be strong.

This is positive and negative.

Positive, because if all your focus is on one craft, you can become the global reference for that craft and by chance, you will succeed very well. But it has severe limitations in clout and wealth potentials.

Negative, because until you branch into several areas of your possibilities, you will be an ’employee-business owner’ … a business owner who has to do a lot of work.

My understanding of entrepreneurship is that I can start a business, build core competencies around it, sell those competencies as services to other businesses and buyers so that I can run multi-level opportunities without having to build a totally new infrastructure, especially if I don’t want to leave my primary business.”

In the Business Model Canvas (BMC)that we teach, this is how we explore REVENUE STREAMS which is one of the 9 building blocks of the BMC.

If you learnt anything from this, kindly share with someone out there.