BUSINESS

7 Tips to Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance as a Nigerian Entrepreneur

Published

1 year ago

7 Tips to Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance as a Nigerian Entrepreneur

As a Nigerian entrepreneur, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is a challenging task to accomplish. And that’s because everything in Nigeria requires an extra effort or push to be achieved.

But as people who have known hard work all their lives, we are always ready to exert that extra energy. With that energy and zeal to make our business successful, we forget some things and people that matter most in our lives. Our health, friends, families, and other non-work-related relationships suffer the brunt of this ambition.

Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. Therefore, you’d accomplish more when you balance your work and personal life. Considering that, we’d look at seven tips for maintaining a healthy work-life balance as a Nigerian entrepreneur. But first, let’s understand what work-life balance is all about.

What is Work-Life Balance?

Work-life balance is the central point between your career and personal life. It means striking a balance between the time you create for work-related activities and the one you create for your social life, family, and other non-work activities.

7 Tips to Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance as a Nigerian Entrepreneur

Striking a balance between business and personal life has defined the life of many entrepreneurs. They become successful at both by prioritizing their work-life activities. However, some succeed in one and fail in the other because they can’t strike a balance.

As a Nigerian entrepreneur, the scale is already against you. You need to double your efforts to achieve the same milestones your counterparts in other countries achieve with ease. And as such, there’s more need for you to create a balance and ensure no part of your life dies prematurely.

7 Tips to Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance as a Nigerian Entrepreneur

These tips would help you maintain a healthy balance between your career and your personal life as a Nigerian entrepreneur:

1. Define Your Goals and Set Targets

Most entrepreneurs are known to have lofty dreams that seem too daunting to achieve. It’s great to have those dreams for your business and personal life. But to actualize them, you must break them down into actionable goals and targets.

Defining your goals and setting targets helps you manage your work and personal life. Achieving your set targets at work relaxes your mind and makes you feel in control, allowing you time to handle personal relationships.

2. Create a Schedule

Nothing overwhelms an entrepreneur more than being unorganized. Handling tasks as they come without prioritizing the most crucial ones would always leave you wondering what you spent your day doing. You’d often see yourself handling essential tasks at home when you should have done them during work hours.

Furthermore, when you don’t organize your activities, you’d always feel there’s more to sort out, even when there’s little left to be done. It leaves you feeling uneasy during your leisure time, as you’d feel you’re wasting productive time.

Therefore, as a Nigerian entrepreneur, you must create schedules for your activities to maintain that work-life balance. Ensure you have a comprehensive to-do list that reminds you of the essential tasks and when to handle them.

3. Set Boundaries

You need to create boundaries to be productive at work and enjoy your leisure off work. You can’t expect to be productive at work if you spend two hours talking to your wife or having a gist with a friend who just breezed in. Similarly, you won’t enjoy your personal life if you spend every minute checking emails, holding meetings, or handling specific minor tasks.

As a Nigerian entrepreneur, you must set boundaries to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Furthermore, entrepreneurs are go-getters. You’d have instances where your church colleagues or any other social group you belong to would give you tasks to accomplish. The entrepreneurship spirit in you would tell you that you can handle it. No. Learn to say no to such tasks if they’ll affect your work-life balance.

4. Outsource Tasks

Even though you want to have every task done to perfection, you must learn that you can’t handle everything alone. You’d have to delegate certain tasks to enable you to focus on the more important things. Using the Pareto principle, discover those tasks that are less likely to increase your business ROI and outsource them.

By relieving yourself of the bulky, non-productive tasks, you’d have more time to handle the tasks that move the needle. That also enables you to make time for your personal life and loved ones.

5. Pursue a Hobby

Entrepreneurship can be overwhelming, especially in a place like Nigeria. Therefore, for your mental health, you need to pursue a hobby that lets you relax and have fun.

A hobby is anything outside your business that allows you to relax and be yourself. It can be as simple as playing or watching football, writing, painting, or golfing. Provided it brings you much fun and makes you ease off work pressure, you should pursue it.

As little as thirty minutes spent pursuing your hobby can keep you recharged, happy and productive for the rest of the day.

6. Take Care of Your Health

You won’t realize how valuable your health is to the success of your business until you break down. If you must keep your machinery regularly serviced for them to operate at an optimal level, what makes you think your body doesn’t need servicing?

Your body is the connecting piece between your business and personal life. You can’t successfully maintain a healthy work-life balance if you don’t take care of it. Therefore, doing regular body checks, exercising regularly, eating healthy, and getting a great dose of sleep aren’t negotiable. They’re things you must do if you want to keep your business running smoothly. Because the moment you neglect your health to focus on business, you’d find your body forcefully creating the time it needs. And unfortunately, the timing might be detrimental to your business success.

7. Never be Afraid to Fail

The life of an entrepreneur is full of failures. Most successful entrepreneurs have failed more than they succeeded. Therefore, failing in a business or relationship shouldn’t make you zone out and give up on trying again.

Neglecting everyone because you failed in a particular relationship would kill your personal life. Similarly, failing a particular business venture shouldn’t stop you from trying again. You must learn how to balance business and personal life to be a fulfilled Nigerian entrepreneur.

Final Thoughts on How to Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance as a Nigerian Entrepreneur

Most Nigerian entrepreneurs have imbibed the hustle culture as the only way to succeed in the country. That leaves them wanting in their personal lives, and their family members constantly feel neglected. That’s wrong and should be corrected. If anything goes wrong in your personal life, you can be devastated to the extent your business would feel the pressure.

Therefore, striking a work-life balance is the only way to live a happy, fulfilled life as a Nigerian entrepreneur. Hopefully, this article has given you insights on achieving that easily.

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BUSINESS

Adamawa Mortgage Bank Faces ₦10 Billion Lawsuit for Alleged Contract Breach with Wisdom Kwati Smart City

Published

3 weeks ago

Christopher

Wisdom Kwati Smart City Ltd, a prominent property development firm based in Abuja, has launched a lawsuit against Adamawa Mortgage Bank Ltd, seeking ₦10 billion in damages. The legal action follows a breach in a joint venture agreement between the two parties for a 20.5-hectare property development in Sangere Village, Yola South, Adamawa State.

Adamawa Mortgage Bank Faces ₦10 Billion Lawsuit for Alleged Contract Breach with Wisdom Kwati Smart City

The joint venture was established to transform the Sangere property into a large-scale residential development, with work already underway and over 3.5 billion invested in the construction of over 200 housing units and on the estate’s infrastructures. However, tensions arose when Adamawa Mortgage Bank publicly withdrew from the agreement, and without appropriate notice or engagement with the firm, released a statement on The Cable newspaper on November 9, 2024. In its announcement, the bank warned prospective buyers, stating:

“This is to inform the general public that Adamawa Mortgage Bank Ltd is not selling its land at Sangere-Wisdom Kwati Smart City. Anyone buying land at the property does so at his own risk. Take further notice that the bank has withdrawn from the joint venture agreement with Wisdom Kwati Smart City. Thank you. Signed Management.”

Following this statement, Wisdom Kwati Smart City Ltd, led by Chairman Mr. Wisdom Kwati, filed for both an interlocutory and interim injunction. The lawsuit names both Adamawa Mortgage Bank Ltd and its Managing Director, Dr. Noris Giscard Stanley, as defendants, alleging breach of contract and reputational harm caused by the bank’s public renouncement.

On November 14, 2024, the High Court of Justice of Adamawa State issued an interim injunction, temporarily restraining the mortgage bank from further actions related to the property until a resolution is reached. The court has ordered the defendants to respond to the claims and appear before the court within 30 days of receiving the summons.

The implications of the contract dispute are significant, given the current stage of the project. According to representatives of Wisdom Kwati Smart City Ltd, the company has invested over ₦3.5 billion in construction and developmental costs on over 200 buildings currently under construction at the site, of which over 50 units are at the finishing level of construction, and infrastructural development that are well into the third phase of the company’s five-phase development plan.

Industry observers suggest that a swift resolution of the dispute would be in the best interests of both parties and their investors, who rely on the stability of the joint venture to secure their investments. The project, originally designed to develop 317 mixed housing units, is already well past its midpoint, making it highly unreasonable for a partner to withdraw at this stage.

Wisdom Kwati Smart City Ltd has expressed a commitment to seeing the project through to completion and ensuring that stakeholders are kept informed of any significant developments in the case. Despite the legal steps taken, the real estate company has reportedly made several attempts to resolve the matter through dialogue, but the bank has reportedly not been forthcoming.

BANKING

Afreximbank Acts as Joint Lead Manager on Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s USD 400mn Senior Unsecured Note Issuance

Published

2 months ago

Christopher

The proceeds of the note will fund general corporate purposes of the issuer, including refinancing of a USD350 million senior bridge-to-bond loan facility that was jointly coordinated by Afreximbank in March 2024.

African Export-Import Bank (“Afreximbank”) (www.Afreximbank.com) is pleased to announce that it has successfully acted as Joint Lead Manager and Bookrunner on a USD 400 million 10.125% Rule 144a/RegS senior unsecured note issuance by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“ETI”) due in October 2029.

The note issuance achieved peak orderbook oversubscription of 2.1x, backed by more than 70 high-quality and diverse investors comprising development finance institutions, asset managers, commercial banks and insurance companies from Africa, the UK, USA, Europe and the Middle East.

Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, commenting on the transaction, said: “We are pleased to have supported Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“ETI”) in placing the first public Eurobond issuance by any Sub-Saharan African financial institution since 2021, following our bridge financing support earlier in the year. This transaction underscores Afreximbank’s capacity and readiness to structure innovative market access solutions for our pan-African banking partners.”

Afreximbank’s Advisory and Capital Markets (ACMA) department acted as Joint Lead Manager and Bookrunner on the issuance, working alongside international and African partners.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

BUSINESS

Japan: African Development Bank Celebrates Three Decades of Japan-Backed Trust Fund

Published

2 months ago

Christopher

Japan: African Development Bank Celebrates Three Decades of Japan-Backed Trust Fund

Over the past three decades, Japan has contributed JPY 5.3 billion ($ 37.4 million) to the PHRDG, supporting 107 projects, with 96 completed and 11 ongoing as of September 2024

The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant (PHRDG), a bilateral trust fund created by Japan in 1994.The initiative has contributed significantly to the development of Africa’s human capital, supporting over 100 transformational projects across various sectors.

PRST at Keizai group

Presenting a commemorative publication on the trust fund at the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo on Wednesday, 16 October, Dr Akinwumi Adesina Adesina, African Development Bank Group President said the publication highlights three decades of successful collaboration and the impactful projects funded by the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant, as well as the critical role the grant has played in Africa’s socioeconomic development.

Over the past three decades, Japan has contributed JPY 5.3 billion ($ 37.4 million) to the PHRDG, supporting 107 projects, with 96 completed and 11 ongoing as of September 2024. In recent years, the trust fund has seen a notable increase in contributions, underscoring Japan’s renewed commitment to fostering a climate-smart, resilient, inclusive, and integrated Africa.

Japan’s Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Atsushi Mimura, said he was pleased the country’s partnership with the African Development Bank Group was going well. He pledged continued support, particularly for the African Development Fund, the private sector, and Japanese and African start-ups

“We look forward to deepening Japan’s relationship with the African Development Bank,” he said.

Mimura described the African Development Bank Group’s partnership with the World Bank’s plan to bring electricity to 300 million Africans (Mission 300) as a powerful narrative that draws attention to the continent’s energy needs.

Adesina commended Japan for its strong support of the African Dev?

elopment Fund, noting that the Fund has delivered impressive results. He sought the country’s support on a wide range of issues, including the 17th general replenishment of the African Development Fund, Mission 300 (http://apo-opa.co/3YcTfy2), Special Drawing Rights, the private sector, and start-ups, among others.

“We thank the people of Japan for standing in solidarity with the people of Africa,” Adesina said.

Since its establishment, the PHRDG has been a vehicle for Japan to share its expertise and experience in human resource development, empowering Africans to lead the transformation of their societies and economies. The grant has supported a wide range of projects aligned with Japan and the African Development Bank Group’s shared objective of human capital development. Officials said the projects have laid the groundwork for accelerated economic growth in Africa.

In a foreword to the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant at 30 publication, Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs Daiho Fujii, expressed Japan’s pride in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the PHRDG.

“Japan is leading the international community’s efforts to overcome global challenges, particularly those affecting vulnerable populations. Through the PHRDG, we provide technical cooperation to develop the human resources that will drive Africa’s socioeconomic transformation. Our partnership with the African Development Bank Group is key to realizing a more resilient and prosperous Africa.”

As the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant enters its fourth decade, the African Development Bank Group and Japan have expressed eagerness to expand their partnership. With six new projects in the 2024–2025 pipeline, including initiatives in higher education, debt management, and climate-smart agriculture, the trust fund remains a critical tool for delivering impact across Africa, officials said.

Both parties pledged to continue to work hand in hand to unlock the potential of Africa’s human capital, fostering innovation and economic development for generations to come.

Japan–Africa Dream Scholarship Program: Investing in the Future

Among the most impactful PHRDG-funded initiatives is the Japan-Africa Dream Scholarship Program (JADS), launched in 2017. This program aims to develop Africa’s human capital by offering scholarships to high-achieving African students for master’s studies in fields such as agriculture, development economics, energy, and public health. To date, the program has awarded scholarships to 23 students from 10 African countries, two-thirds of whom are women.

Graduates of the JADS program have gone on to make significant contributions to their home countries. Alumni include Mary Yeboah Asantewaa from Ghana, who now works at SORA Technology in Accra, leveraging drone technology to control infectious diseases, and Glory Sibale from Malawi, who joined Tokyo’s Taiyo-Yuka recycling company, focusing on sustainable agricultural project management.

As part of his mission to Japan, Adesina also met with Nobumitsu Hayashi, the Governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, to expand collaboration in key areas, including agriculture, healthcare, energy access, support for youth entrepreneurs, critical minerals, and regional corridors.

Later Wednesday, Adesina met with the leadership of the Association of African Economic and Development Japan, where both parties discussed potential collaborations for impactful projects. He continued with meetings with Kanetsugu Mike, Chairman of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and Ken Shibuya, Co-Chairman of the Global South Africa Committee of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives).

The African Development Bank president invited business leaders to the 2024 Africa Investment Forum to be held in Rabat in December. Adesina also hosted representatives of the African diplomatic corps, development partners, and the private and public sectors, where they discussed leveraging co-creative relationships with Japanese companies and institutions.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).