After graduating with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering and realising that he lacked practical skills that would help his entrepreneurial ambition, Oluwasegun Adesanya, Founder of mingcart.com an online mall for Made in Nigeria products applied and was selected for JA Nigeria’s #ViMP initiative ( Venture in Management Programme). He was one of the 50 people that received a scholarship to be part of the 2017 Venture in Management Program (ViMP) , a mini MBA program at the Lagos Business School (LBS). ViMP is a one-week intensive program facilitated by LBS whereby every session of the program is rigorous and participants are required to study and discuss cases given to each group before every class. That was Adesanya’s first time of using case studies to analyze business problems from several angles; social, economic, political and ethical. The tasks helped him profer solutions to every challenge he came across.
A life changing experience it was for him, as he was exposed to a higher level of education which made him acquire more knowledge through brainstorming and collaboration with people from different fields, backgrounds and beliefs. One major lesson he learnt from the program was the essence of teamwork; a value that has been essential to his role as CEO. He was taught about the achievements and advantages associated with effective teamwork and that has developed his emotional intelligence. As he studied and discussed real life events and experiences in the corporate world, the trainings and teachings also played a key role in the development of his leadership, management and entrepreneurship skills.
“The JA experience taught me how to create a sense of purpose for myself and the society through the corporate voluntary program we embarked upon. I was made to see the world in a different light, showing that the little contributions I make voluntarily will go a long way in impacting thousands of lives.” he said.
He recalls being asked “ What will you do with your one wild and precious life”? This question got him thinking about using his skills and capabilities to promote the local manufacturing industry and help reduce unemployment in Nigeria. His initiative, MIng Cart.com an online mall launched in June 2017 aims to create awareness of the quality of our indigenous products, promote the growth of SMEs and increase export activities in Nigeria.
Adesanya believes that the youth of today need to avail themselves for opportunities and eschew fear when trying new things. “We cannot know how well we can fly until we spread our wings”. His major takeaways from participating in ViMP was a clear sense of what he should focus his time and energy into and skills to smoothly navigate his entrepreneurial journey.
