Dakkada Networking Experience: Agriculture, ICT dominate discussions in June Edition.

Entrepreneurs in Akwa Ibom State have been urged to take a second and perhaps more critical look at Agriculture and ICT if they must make any significant imprint in the business ecosystem in the post-covid-19 era. This was the consensus opinion of panelists at the June edition of the Dakkada Networking Experience, a monthly interaction organized by the Dakkada Business and Leadership Forum. (DB&LF).

In their different presentations, panelists which included Co-founder of Ourfarm.ng, Mr Idorenyin Eshiet, Digital Marketing Expert – Ekemini Francis and a staff of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Okuma Ekpoudom stressed the need for entrepreneurs to explore the opportunities that abound in the agriculture and ICT sectors of the economy so as to record significant success and leave their imprints on the sands of time.

The respective speakers also noted that funding, grants and loan facilities available for enterpreneurs in the ICT and Agric sectors were largely untouched owing to lack of interests or inadequate access to information on the part of the entrepreneurs. Also speaking, the NAFDAC rep, Okuma Ekpoudom encouraged entrepreneurs in the state to collaborate more so as to share resources and facilities, thereby reducing their overhead cost. The regulatory body representative also took out time to simplify the registration and approval procedures for entrepreneurs who are into production but are yet to get NAFDAC approval for their products.

Earlier in her opening remarks, the special Assistant to the Akwa Ibom State Governor on Entrepreneurial Development, Mrs Meflyn Anwana stated that Government through the directorate of Marketing and Brand Management is Committed to rendering assistances where necessary to entrepreneurs in the state. Anwana urged entrepreneurs to make the most of available opportunities post covid-19, so as to avoid being left behind in a fast paced economic dispensation.

The June edition of the Dakkada Networking Experience (DNE) which had as its topic “Post covid-19; Exploring opportunities for business sustainability (Part II) was a continuation of last month’s edition and held on the Zoom online conferencing platform. The live interaction attracted entrepreneurs, policymakers as well as government functionaries as the audience.