- Sotonye Anga gave a presentation at the University of Lagos on job creation through agribusiness. - After his presentation, some students asked how they could become agripreneurs with little money as Anga suggested. This question led Anga to propose three simple agribusiness ideas students could start with less than 50,000 Naira. - The three business ideas proposed were: 1) selling well-peppered barbequed plantains (boli) at stands around campus, 2) selling individual bananas for 10 Naira each delivered by bicycle, and 3) packaging mixtures of gari, sugar, and groundnuts in nylon bags to sell as a

2. THE ENCOUNTER AT UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS SEMINAR ON JOB CREATION
WITH SOTONYE ANGA, COORDINATOR, AGRIBUSINESS AND YOUTH
EMPOWERMENT, COMMUNITY OF AGRICULTURAL STAKEHOLDERS OF
NIGERIA (CASON).
Something happens when desperate and determined people
place demand on your ability. Ideas are unleashed and history
is made. This was the case when Mr. Anga visited the
University of Lagos (UNILAG) on June 13, 2013 as guest
speaker at the Job Creation Seminar of the great Akokites.
After Mr. Anga’s Presentation, a group of Students followed
him out of the Multipurpose Hall where the Seminar held and
they asked him “How can we become Agripreneurs with little
money, just as you said during the presentation?
This simple question opened a new vista, the presentation
started with these words “I SEE A NEW BREED OF
AGRIPENEURS IN NIGERIA”.
Agripreneurs are people engaged in the business of
Agriculture.
When you take up any aspect of Agriculture as a business you
are an AGRIPRENEUR.
Bill Gates with all his wealth and expertise, when it comes to
computers and software cannot survive without food and to
produce the food we eat, we need Agripreneurs to get down to
business.
The Agricultural Value Chain is fully loaded with diverse
Agribusiness opportunities that begins from the Farm to the
Table. At the farm the seed is planted and looked after until it

3. reaches maturity, it is then harvested, stored, packaged and
sold as food and served right on our tables.
A whole lot of process is involved from Farm to Table. It is a
large network that involves several players, this is why
Agribusiness has space for a lot of people. It also explains the
reason why Agribusiness remains one sector that can quickly
create jobs for our young people. The Agricultural potential of
Nigeria is HUGE and yet to be exploited and we need to place
demand on this potential.
Potential will remain potential and cannot benefit anybody or
nation. For potential to be anything meaningful, we need to
turn potential into something that empowers, benefits and
enriches. A corresponding action is required for potential to
achieve anything.
Potential cannot convert itself. People need to get into action.
The agricultural potential of Nigeria is very visible and lives
with us. A drive across the country from Lagos to Kano leaves
our mouths opened as we see vast uncultivated land overgrown
with weed and bushes. These land can be put to better use. We
can do mechanized farming producing the food we need to eat.
When we do this, we will have our youths actively engaged in
mechanized farming, growing various crops that are required
as food locally, so our growing local population can be well fed
at an affordable cost and also grow crops for export markets.
Today, Nigeria with a growing population of over 160 million
people imports Rice, Sugar, Wheat, Vegetable Oil and others.
Spending Billions of Dollars annually importing these
commodities while our major Export is Crude Oil.

4. Crude Oil is non-renewable resource and as such we cannot
continue to depend on it for revenue. The big question is what
will we do if our crude oil wells go dry?
We all know the answer but we do not need to wait till this
happens. We need to start now doing the right things to
diversify the Economy of Nigeria.
Our young men and women remains a powerful force that
when giving the right direction and support will drive the
Agricultural revolution of Nigeria and create for us the
“GREEN ECONOMY”. An Economy that is based, driven and
premised on Agriculture.
Youth means Power
Youth means Energy
Youth means Drive
Youth means Tremendous Potential
Youth Means Limitless Possibilities
In putting all this together the message is very Simple, Nigeria
needs to turn to its youths and empower them enough to take
Agriculture to enviable heights, reduce unemployment and
create wealth for the Nation.
“I believe in the youths of Nigeria and I am convinced that
with the right investments in our youths, they will make the
difference that will make all the difference in Nigeria’s
Agriculture.
Nigeria’s youth population require support in order to engage
in meaningful Agribusiness, and this support will range from
capacity building by way of training, mentoring to financing.
There is therefore, an urgent need for a specialized funding for
youths in Agriculture. I strongly recommend a NIGERIAN
AGRIBUSINESS FUND FOR YOUTHS (NAFFY).

5. This fund will be exclusively used for financing Nigerian
Youths and made easy for access by our youths. No collateral
required, priced at single digit, purely for youths and
exclusively for Agribusiness.
Nigerian Youths from ages 18 - 40 can access this fund for use
in any Agribusiness of their choosing.
In crafting this fund, we need to take into consideration that
the average graduate youth do not have a house or property to
give as collateral and this is why they require special
attention.
With a 50 Billion Naira fund size at least 50,000 or more
youths will be engaged and established in various
Agribusiness. These 50,000 youths will in turn employ 2
youths resulting in 150,000 jobs in just a year, so you see the
multiplier effect?
With this strategy we can quickly create jobs for our youths.
It is of importance to note that transforming Nigeria’s
Agricultural sector will require very radical, creative, and
practical approach. This is why President Goodluck Jonathan
should be applauded for the choice of Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina
as Minister for Agriculture. Under Dr. Adesina as Minister he
has been able to talk Nigeria into seeing Agriculture as a
business, his talks have brought about a new awakening and
interest for Agriculture in Nigeria. He introduced the Staple
crop processing zone and other novel initiatives to grow the
nation’s Agriculture. He got us to see what we lose by our huge
food import bills and what we stand to benefit if we can
substitute import of food with local production of same. The
Food importing cartel will not love such a minister of
Agriculture.
However, no matter what people may choose to say or think he
has created a path for Nigeria’s Agricultural revolution and we

6. need to build on it and support him enough for this path to be
fully actualized and realized. All that is required is focus,
discipline and time and Nigeria’s Agriculture will never be the
same again.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Ideas rule the world and this is true.
Under the “ambush” of these young Unilag students, three (3)
major Agribusinesses were produced right there and then, that
they can start and begin to create wealth from, with less than
50,000 Naira.
I said to the youths “I will be looking forward to who will be
the first to start any of these three Agribusiness ideas.
FIRST BUSINESS INITIATIVE:
“WELL PEPPERED BARBEQUED BOLI”
THE BUSINESS: Get women that are already experienced in
roasting boli.(plantain) Keep them at strategic places within
the campus with their boli stands (grill), they will be uniquely
dressed with a beautiful banner behind each stand; with five
or more stand you have already created a franchise. You can
get your raw plantain from outside Lagos in Oyo, Ogun, Ondo
and Edo States. These are some sources of cheap raw
materials (plantain). So you buy these plantains in pick up
loads and then you feed your network of roasters.
This way, you create a means of livelihood and also create
employment and offer students a Healthy Snack that will
improve their health.

7. SECOND BUSINESS INITIATIVE:
“ONE FINGER”
“One Finger” is a unique business proposition, in this business
the Idea is to sell just one banana for N10 Only. You can use
Bicycles to deliver banana, so as student’s are going for
lectures they can just pay N10 for a stalk of banana and eat
healthy. The Agripreneur in this case will be known as “One
Finger”. So students and people can buy as many one finger
banana as possible.
THIRD BUSINESS INITIATIVE:
“QUICK GARRI SNACK”
Here, all you need is Nylon and sealer. The individual buys
Gari, Sugar and Groundnut in bulk; these three is packed
together in a nylon that will be easy to carry around, so the
students can buy from between N10 - N20 a piece and ready-
to-eat.
For all these Agribusinesses, the unique thing is that, they are
very simple initiatives that students can start and build while
still in school. Also, they are not too expensive to start but they
will require students to be determined.
For me, I count it as a privilege to share with these great
students and I am excited at the employment opportunity
these initiatives and others can create in the lives of these
stars.