Nigeria’s economy is now worth $510 billion, making it Africa’s largest economy. The West African nation imports billions in goods from around the world – 18.2 percent from China and 10 percent from the United States, said Howard Hayes, director of Minority Business Development for the City of St. Louis.
“We are the children of the diaspora,” said Hayes, who served as the moderator at the MOKAN Business Symposium luncheon on May 9. “You would think there would be a natural connection between this country and Africa.”
But are U.S. companies – especially minority businesses – tapping into this market?
Cliff Franklin, president and CEO of FUSE Advertising, said his minority-owned firm is looking to open up avenues in Nigeria by creating consumable TV content for a Nigerian audience, through the company’s Global Fusion Network.
“Now with technology, you could be doing business with Nigeria with the click of a button,” said Franklin, who was one of the panelists at the symposium’s luncheon. “When you build a company, you have to build a company not just thinking about St. Louis, but knowing that this is a global economy. It’s a big world out there.”
In St. Louis, Franklin said that minority-owned enterprises (MBEs) are capturing probably only about one percent of the business, so it’s important not to rely on solely local commerce, he said.
On May 9, Franklin and three other minority business owners spoke about how to grow businesses from the ground up at the MOKAN symposium, which was held at the Union Station Hotel. The other panelists included Nicole Adewale, principal and president of ABNA Engineering; Tony Thompson, CEO and board chairman of Kwame Building Group; and Glenda White, CEO of Medi-Plex Health Professionals.
Leaders of MOKAN, an advocacy organization for minority businesses, encouraged the panelists to be frank and open with the audience about their experiences – and the panelists obliged. Most of the panelists said they started their businesses in their homes and financed their first years out of pocket. Most said they tried to get loans, but we unable to get financing from local banks.
Adewale said she and her husband, Abe, started ABNA together by transforming their guest bedroom into an office space in 1994.
“We joke that ABNA used to fit into one filing cabinet, literally,” she said. “Before we started the business, we saved 30 to 50 percent of our disposable income. We were not going to the club or going out to eat.”
They built up their own capital and didn’t seek out a loan until they hired employees. Now with 70 employees, ABNA is consistently ranked among the Top 25 Engineering Firms by the St. Louis Business Journal (2001-2013).
“It takes time to build up capital when you are going to finance yourself,” she said.
Thompson’s beginnings in 1991 were quite similar, he said. Now Kwame manages $250 million in construction projects annually and employs a staff of 75. It’s important to find the smartest people to join your team, Thompson said. He told the story of the late Walter Horn, a construction manager who worked with Kwame for 15 years after he retired from the Bechtel Corporation.
While working on the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport expansion, Thompson said, Horn was an essential part of the project. In the planning phase, all the involved corporations, including Jacobs Engineering Group, met to decide who was going to take certain positions.
“I’m a minority firm, right?” Thompson said. “Certainly I don’t have anything to contribute to Jacobs or the other firms. But it all comes down to people. Everyone put resumes on the table. I put Walter’s resume on the table.”
Walter’s experience and education impressed the group, and he became the construction manager over the tunnel aspect at Lindbergh. Thompson also said he placed his young minority engineers to work side by side with Horn.
“That is one thing we must do, we must transfer knowledge,” Thompson said. “That’s how I spend most of my days now.”
He said he works with human resources staff to make such connections and facilitate training.
Hayes asked the group what minority businesses need to grow in the St. Louis community.
Franklin said they need more minorities and minority advocates employed within the corporations. Creating minority inclusion goals and getting certified as MBEs does not do any good without contracts. In his experience, he said, the deals come from knowing someone within the company that knows his business and believes in minority inclusion.
He said the MBE certification process is extensive and time consuming, and it doesn’t help you land the deal.
“They make you go through all of this inspection and intrusiveness – check your teeth, check the bottom of your feet,” Franklin said. “Let’s say everyone in this room is ready and able to perform at high level. Where are the advocates now to ensure we get those opportunities?”
