From Idris Khalid, Bauchi
Three graduating MBA students of the Department of Business Administration, Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU), Bauchi, have showcased innovative business models aimed at transforming entrepreneurial ideas into viable enterprises and addressing unemployment.
The business concepts were unveiled as part of the university’s entrepreneurship development initiative, with the projects focusing on practical solutions in digital commerce, livestock production and market access.
One of the graduating students, Tasiu Saminu, presented a business model centred on goat farming and digital sales, demonstrating how technology could be leveraged to expand livestock businesses and connect farmers directly with potential customers.
Another student, Aminu Adam, presented an e-commerce platform designed to connect smallholder farmers with markets across Northern Nigeria.
The initiative, according to the presentation, could help address one of the major challenges confronting small-scale farmers access to reliable and sustainable markets for their produce.
Bashir Ajingi also presented a third business concept, further demonstrating how business education could be translated into practical solutions to real-world economic challenges.
Speaking on the initiative yesterday, the Vice Chancellor of SAZU, Prof. Fatima Tahir, said the university had introduced entrepreneurship programmes to equip students with practical skills to become self-reliant after graduation.
Tahir was represented by deputy director of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Mohammed Adamu, said the initiative was designed to respond to the rising unemployment in the country by encouraging students to establish businesses and create opportunities for themselves and others, rather than depend solely on formal employment.
The head of the department of business administration, SAZU, Dr. Inuwa Mohammed, said the three business concepts demonstrated the importance of exposing students to practical entrepreneurship alongside conventional academic training.
He said such initiatives would help students develop the skills required to identify economic challenges and design sustainable solutions.
One of the graduating students, Murtala Rabilu, commended the university for supporting students to develop their entrepreneurial capacity, saying the initiative had provided them with valuable knowledge and practical exposure.
Also speaking, the director of commerce, Bauchi State Ministry of Commerce, Kawuju Baba Jibirin, who represented the commissioner, described the initiative as timely and relevant to efforts to strengthen the state’s economy.
Jibirin said the ministry was supporting entrepreneurship through initiatives aimed at helping businesses formalise their operations, improve access to finance and strengthen the capacity of entrepreneurs.
The exhibition demonstrated the potential of MBA education to extend beyond the classroom, with the graduating students applying their training to develop business models aimed at addressing unemployment, strengthening agricultural value chains and expanding digital access to markets.
