A community-based non-governmental organisation, Advocacy for Anti-bribery Corruption and Crime Prevention Initiative (AABC& CPI) in partnership with Agents for Citizen-driven Transformation (ACT) and European Union (EU) hosted a one-day seminar for vulnerable women and people with disabilities (PWD) on how to become successful self-employed entrepreneurs to alleviate poverty in Mushin.

The seminar has participants selected from different areas of Mushin communities, who are currently running small and medium enterprises or aspiring to own a business which the facilitators took them through a series of lectures on sourcing for fund and finance management.

The Chairman of the Advocacy for Anti-bribery Corruption and Crime Prevention Initiative (AABC& CPI), Mr. Moruf Okusanya, said it is a known fact that the seminar became imperative because the largest employer of labour is the small and medium enterprises as government can not gainfully employ all her citizens and when you empower women financially, you empower a nation.

"This is to get our women and the people with disabilities the necessary information on how to source for funds so that we can get them out of poverty and unending financial crisis businesses face every day, especially small businesses," he said.

Also said that the level of ignorance among small and medium business owners has caused many to fold up and the information the seasoned facilitators will share with them will not make them fall victim.

Me Ganiu Jamiu, a seasoned charter accountant, lecturer and entrepreneur expert, took the participants through diverse sources of fund to start a business as capital play a major role in every business. 

The facilitator disclosed that every business idea requires funding from starting up to working funds and exposed them to diverse sources of funds which they can explore to take their business idea off paperwork.

"Family and friends are the best sources of funds because they are free of worries, unlike other sources which often come with interest either compound or simple like LAPO, Grooming and banks,

"The right person and approach must be identified in the family, do not be in a hurry to collect credit or over desperate to receive a loan because no one knows tomorrow, be disciplined not to misuse funds or loan to avoid financial embarrassment and keep the line of communication open with the lender,

"Trade credit is another good source of financing a business in which you collect goods on credit and pay after sales of the goods, and this often time comes with an incentive from the supplier," he said.

He ended the sources of funds with the angel investors, which is another great source, the angel investors are wealthy businessmen and women, they are shareholders who are ready to partner with the business owner to grow the business and share in the liabilities and profit.

Speaking with Mushines news, he said It is always good to start a business with your little money, by listing the business needs, environment and objectives because there are too enormous challenges affecting businesses in the country which makes many collapses.

He pointed out corruption, lack of price control and the government's inability to provide a conducive atmosphere and environment for businesses to grow as some of the challenges businesses are facing.

The second facilitator, Mr Adisa Adedeji Fatai spoke on the financial management of a business, advising them on how to invest their resource both in the long run and short run for the business to grow.

Stated the four key Ms factors of every business such as man materials, money and machine to be managed properly to create further businesses out of the existing business which will help the business to achieve financial stability 

The sole person must pay his or herself a salary as other staff to cultivate financial discipline and must create new things and invest in the future, having financial records of how funds are spent so that expenses ate properly accounted for to detect fraud and theft and they were advised to register their business and open a company or personal account to attract corporate organisations for more business and referrers.

A participant, Mrs Dada Funmilayo who lives around Ilasamaja, thanked the organiser of the seminar for bringing such transformative information to them and promised to act on the information received from the facilitators to advance her sole, petty trade business.