Ibukun Awosika is undeniably a successful Nigerian business woman. With almost 30 years of experience in business, she has grown from running just her own business to sitting on boards of prestigious companies and corporations.

An in-depth look into her journey in business reveals vital lessons on the value of self development as an entrepreneur .

During a speech delivered at the Enterprise Development Centre, Mrs Ibukun Awosika made statements that affirmed her hunger for knowledge.

“I am always going to school, in year 2000, I went to Lagos Business School, I did a chief executive programme. After about 3 years, I knew there were new things to learn, having just had a baby, I took off to Barcelona, Spain to do an MBA Global executive programme. People thought I was crazy. They said “what do you need these for? You are already successful. What do you need these degrees for?” Success is left to the person interpreting. What others consider success, for you, it might be the beginning. I don’t give myself out for people to measure, I will be the one that is measuring. Every year, I must go for at least a brief course. The world is changing so rapidly and you must give yourself up to new things so that the world would not leave you behind, knowledge rules the world. Whatever business you go into, learn how you can do yours differently to make you stand out “– Ibukun Awosika, Enterprise Development Centre

Ibukun Awosika understands the value of self development in business, she has educational qualifications from various business schools across the world. She has invested time and money into building successful businesses other than hers these include House of Tara International, AGDC……

Today, Ibukun Awosika is the Chairman, Board of Directors, First Bank Nigeria Limited; the founder and Chief executive officer of Chair Centre Limited. She chairs a number of corporate and non-profit boards such as House of Tara international, Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC). She sits on the boards of Digital Jewel Limited, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Convention of Business Integrity and Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.

Self development as an entrepreneur is part of growing in business, as your business expands, it is important to increase in knowledge and measure growth. When the individual running a business lacks knowledge especially in the area of business, it hampers growth of the business. A business cannot growth beyond the capacity of the owner. Moreso, knowledge prepares you for opportunities, Ibukun Awosika equips herself with knowledge and that makes her easily qualify for opportunities, there is a lot to learn from that. Business cannot just be about buying and selling or offering services, it is about growth and this is born out of hunger for knowledge…..