My mission is to ensure the survival of small businesses - Karakata Promoter

AT Oderinu

By: Ola Pat

Here was a family surviving on a business of less than #3,000 (Three thousand Naira) stocks.

Most race in life is not only a race against time, it is a race to impact your community and leave behind a worthy legacy. Even an armed robber strives to leave a good paying financial legacy for his/her family and in some cases for his/her religious and country people. The social media is a vast galaxy that means different things to different people, to some, it is a shelter from reality, yet to some it a mask to perpetuate and spread hate. And to some other, it is the leverage needed to impact the lives of others. Our guest is one of the few that have saddled themselves with a mission slimily impossible. Adedayo T. Oderinu, an independent radio producer with Rave 91.7 FM in Osogbo runs Karakata Non-refundable SME Grant, which gives financial support to micro-businesses leveraging the social media coupled with crowdfunding. His mission is to ensure the survival of small businesses. At Commune Magazine, we are crazy about community people that work for the progress of the community. We asked AT Oderinu the about his vision, mission, challenges and other sundry issues. Everything is possible, if only you put your mind at it. Commune Magazine motto come handle here; when community people come together there is no limit to what can be achieved.

Please kindly introduce yourself and what you do?

I am Adedayo Oderinu, the Presenter and Content Creator of Karakata on Radio.

Related:Editorial: Mission possible

What is your relationship with Karakata Non-refundable SME Grant?

To appropriately answer this question, I may need to take you down memory lane so you get the background of it.

Karakata as a radio programme started with the vision to create a radio broadcast content that can help young graduates better prepare for job opportunities. On the flip side, the programme was also designed to help entrepreneurs (who are either employed or unemployed) get workable business ideas and business management information that can help them succeeds.

In the course of running this vision, I discovered that in an emerging city like Osogbo and a growing State like Osun, a lot of Small businesses were dying due to the paucity of funds and the subsistent nature of the businesses ab initio. This was made worse by the fact that most of these small businesses were ineligible for funding from such organized funding institutions due to their structure and the size of the business. So, I decided to fill this gap.

This led to the Karakata Non-Refundable SME Grant, KNSG giving a minimum of #5,000 to small business owners who truly require such funding to get their businesses back to life. So, what is my relationship with the KNSG? I started the grants programme as a direct solution to the imminent death of most small businesses if they are not assisted.

What is the grant about?

As I have said earlier, the grant is aimed at helping small business owners stay afloat and continue to play their important roles in the development of our economy.

The idea is superb and it attends to the Microcosm of the economy, how do you fund the project?

I particularly love this question. When I came up with this vision, I had only one idea; to fund the project using the power of crowdfunding. It sounded arduous but workable, so I decided to employ the wide reach of social media to raise funds.

I began soliciting support from friends, colleagues and associates. The plan was to rise as little as #1,000 from as many people as possible, lump this sum together and give a minimum of #5,000 to each beneficiary. This has worked out thus far and I now have friends and donors who have pledged multiples of #1,000. It has been social media crowdfunding to date.

Karakata Logo

How do you come about the grant idea?

Well, I am a deep thinker. The idea came up after deep reflections on my experiences having run Karakata for about two years.

What motivated you to do it?

I draw my motivation from my personal experiences in business and the cases I see daily in the course of realizing the Karakata vision.

What are the mission/objectives of Karakata Non-refundable SME Grant?

I believe the core of any economy is those small businesses that ensure the continuous circulation of money in the society. The mission is therefore to ensure the continued survival of those small businesses.

It must be clear that the business truly needs #5,000 and the sum can absolutely enhance growth in the business.

In five years time, where do you want Karakata grant to be?

For me, five years is a long time. In one month, we have deployed effectively the power of social media/crowdfunding and have successfully empowered seven (7) small businesses. In a matter of months, I hope we can empower a higher number of business with increased amounts pegged at a minimum of #20,000 per business.

Well, the major challenge I have seen is not in itself a challenge but a motivation.

Though the grant seems small, what has been the impact on the Economic lives of the beneficiaries?

I have seen people ask me often what #5,000 can do in a business. Let me share this experience. A certain man who sells Kuli-Kuli won this grant the first week. In my usual style, I chose to visit him in his Oko, Oyo State residence to verify his claims and hand him the grant and ensure his story is true. I discovered to my surprise that he was, in fact, running the business alongside his wife; and they have children. Their total stock on the day I visited was half a bag of Kuli-Kuli; yet a bag sells for only #4,800 (four thousand, eight hundred Naira). Here was a family surviving on a business of less than #3,000 (Three thousand Naira) stocks. The cash injection of #5,000 was an important boost to their business and they could go all the way to achieve greater success.

I have also seen a graduate who sold locust bean (Iru). Today, the #10,000 grant we gave him and the free tabletop sealer that a donor gave him has revolutionized his business and he now seals, sterilizes and brands his product. We are making a lot of impacts.

What is the coverage area of the program in terms of geography?

Initially, we wanted to focus on Osun State alone. But, when you have donors from across the country, you have no choice but extend the programme to other areas too. Nigeria is our focus but we are primarily working from Osun.

What do you look out for from Prospective beneficiaries to qualify for the grant?

The first criterion is an absolute need for funding. It must be clear that the business truly needs #5,000 and the sum can absolutely enhance growth in the business. If we assess the business and it seems to need more than #5,000, it is not impossible to improve the package for such a business.

The other criterion is the willingness of the business owner to engage the grant towards profitable ends. This is assessed by the person’s understanding of how the grant must be used and how much profit it can generate in realistic terms.

How many people have benefited so far from the grant?

So far, we have empowered seven (7) businesses and we intend to do at least 10 before the end of the year.

Also related: People need to begin to look inwards

Which of these people really impress you most?

It is hard for me to choose which of these businesses has impressed me the most. But, the story of the graduate from Ilesha whose Iru (locust bean) business was funded gives me a lot of delight. He gave me newer insights into the dignity of labour.

Apart from funds, what are the other challenges Karakata Grant is facing?

Well, the major challenge I have seen is not in itself a challenge but a motivation. That is, the urge to do better every new week, reach more business before they close shop and keep giving out new career/business content on the radio programme has been a challenging motivation if I am allowed to put it that way.

Apart from the grant provided, do you provide any other support or keep a tap on how the grant is expended?

I maintain a close relationship with the beneficiaries, offering them advice and mentorship as they go forward. This is in one part due to my desire to see them utilize the grant profitable and in another part due to my desire to enhance the sustainability of business ventures in Osun and Nigeria.

Give us a glimpse into who you are i.e. your educational background, your childhood experiences.

People often find my educational background a bit tricky (Laughs). I am a graduate of Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State and I have put in a number of years of working experience in this field.

You want to know my childhood experiences? Hmmm, I grew up in a modest environment in Ejigbo, Osun State precisely, where all I really saw around were these small and very little businesses. Maybe, just maybe this informed my passion for small businesses. I and my siblings had an upbringing where we saw our parents doing their best to discharge all of their responsibilities without failure. I can thus say also, that the sense of responsibility that my parents exhibit while I was growing up also informed how I take responsibility for the people around me today.

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