Segment: Universities Should Teach Skills, Not Just Theory

What if the biggest difference between people who build successful businesses in Africa and those who spend their lives chasing degrees and job applications isn't how much education they have or which university they attended, but understanding that you can sell your own clothes to raise capital and start with 10,000 naira that equals $7 today, that the engineering student at University of Lagos who went from selling sandwiches for 60 naira with room delivery for 20 naira to running the first student owned restaurant on campus discovered something universities will never teach you about the brutal truth that your grades might suffer when you prioritize business but if you don't have passion for what you're studying the classroom will never give you the fulfillment that building something of your own will, and that the young person who thinks they need massive capital or perfect conditions to start has been programmed to see obstacles instead of opportunities when you can literally take a mini grill from your father's house create a concept called Jamwich and build a business that supports you without asking your parents for pocket money? In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with someone who reveals why he remembers there was a time when he was going to university and needed to raise some cash to start his business so he took some of his clothes and stuff to Yaba Railway and sold them, why he packed a jacket and pants and some shirts and raised about 10,000 naira which if you take into dollars today is $7 and into cedis is 80 cedis, why this was like 2009 2010 about 17 years ago, and why he knew his dad had this toast machine like a mini grill very small electric grill for breakfast in the house and he went home and asked for it saying he just wanted to take it to school. He breaks down why he was just thinking what can I start and he started to sell sandwiches in his hostel at University of Lagos Jajal B312, why he created a concept called Jamwich which was his own recipe because he wanted something different from what every other person could get in the hostel, why people usually just had bread and eggs and toast but he wanted something that would have tuna or sardine or jam or eggs something really flavorful and tasty and delicious, why he was selling 60 naira and room delivery for 20 naira, and why it was really exciting because he got to make money and it felt so good that he didn't even need to ask his parents for pocket money. But he also confronts the brutal reality of balancing business and academics. Why he rather sold his sandwiches than go to class until his semester GP went to 1.9 something and this is engineering, why his course adviser called him and said if he didn't perform better and better his grades they might kick him out of the College of Engineering or even out of the school with what they call easy advice to withdraw, why he just needed to choose either slow down or stop the business and just focus on academics, and why he had to look for the most brilliant guys in his class and roll with them and go for extra classes and tutorials which helped build his grades even though he honestly knew he'd already found what he had passion for and it wasn't engineering it was food. He reveals why when he had his grades stable he went for training at a catering school to learn the art of cooking and maybe just starting up a business, why he registered his first business Sunny Case in 2011 as an event catering outfit, why after his training he started to do small events here and there like birthday parties and small weddings catering to 50 people 20 people 30 people, why some students who wanted to have their ready parties in their hostel would hire him to provide small chops like finger foods mocktails chapman, and why he got a lot of support from students at the University of Lagos which is why till tomorrow they do scholarship programs every year to impact the lives of students there. But he also exposes what happened to his friends who took the traditional path. Why a lot of his friends who finished university and went to look for jobs found it was tough, why some were fortunate to get jobs and some had to go back to do masters to upgrade their degrees so they could get better opportunities, why people that had businesses running like him and maybe just a few people already had their thing going and after school were just facing it head on, and why before he even graduated he already had his restaurant running which was the first student owned restaurant on campus that was hiring students. He breaks down why skill development is as important as your academic pursuits, why if you want to go into IT you need to start learning things outside of the classroom like AI, why his friend learned how to build websites back in 2010 2011 using basic programming languages and if he had not gone out of the classroom to acquire these skills he would not have...