Akaku Ugochukwu, an entrepreneur has requested for the sum of N10 million to expand his food processing business in exchange of 22.5% equity in his company.
He planned to process locally sourced food ingredients into highly nutritive easy-to-cook food concentrates.
This is part of the highlights of first episode of Dragon’s Den Nigeria show which aired on Sunday, August 27.
Nwaji Jibunoh; the presenter had made a charming introduction of the dragons, thereby creating a desire for success in the would-be entrepreneurs.
Though Femi Tejuoso objected to being offered only 22.2% equity in a company that the entrepreneur expected the dragons to fully fund, he seemed interested in the business, especially when Ugochukwu mentioned that the equity was negotiable.
Alex Amosu then discovered that Ugochukwu’s customers comprised about 20 local caterers who baked Akara and Moi Moi. Ugochukwu professed to having made N800 thousand in the past one year, of which N600 thousand was his profit.
Ibukun Awosika told him, "with such a profit margin, your business is a cash-cow, you don’t need us, all you need to do is just plough back your profit into the business". But Chris Parkes wanted to know how Ugochukwu intended to market this product, to which he had no ready answer. His business proposal soon crumbled under heavy intellectual fire which saw all the Dragons opting out.
The second entrepreneur approached the Dragons brandishing two coconuts and a bottle. He asked for N35 million, but had no clear business plan on how to use the money. He fell under Alex’s fire which sealed his fate in the den.
The third entrepreneur who had a misconceived idea of the media industry faced the dragons with an idea to set up a one-stop entertainment and media training facility where he would train applicants to become actors, producers, and directors in one week through seminars.
This elicited negative reactions from Chris Parkes and John Momoh who pointed out that his idea was not feasible and not quite long after, he crashed out of the race.
The fourth entrepreneur, David Okafor wanted N25.5 million for his mobile enquiry service business and was ready to give up 20% equity. He talked about designing a mobile directory which would offer a bouquet of services from corporate organizations, and making it available to the public through dedicated short SMS codes.
This attracted Alex Amosu’s attention, who invested some money on the idea but later withdrew it because David’s idea lacked commercial viability. He lost out.
The fifth entrepreneur came with hopes of expanding his auto-refurbishing and auto-refinishing business with N10 million. He boasted of a turnover of N5 million for the past 3 years, with a profit of N2 million each year. Momoh’s attack came first, followed by Awosika’s and before this entrepreneur knew it, he lost out and went home with nothing.
The sixth entrepreneur, Modupe walked into the den, fidgeting with a piece of paper in her hands from which she read her name and business details, stuttering through her presentation, to the Dragon’s dismay.
She asked for N5 million for a business that aimed at empowering women through paid seminars, offering 15% equity to the dragons. She lost out however, for her lack of composure and on the premise that her proposed services were offered free by churches around Lagos, according to Awosika.
The last entrepreneur on this episode, Mohamed Umar, the proprietor of Cute Suites in Zamfara state asked for N50 million and offered 33.3% equity. His idea seemed promising at first but Ibukun Awosika’s observations revealed that his clientele base was narrow and coupled with the fact that he had no clear plan for revenue generation; he left the den with nothing but a pat on the back.
The highlight of his presentation however, was when he presented the Dragons each with a Cute Suits crested fez cap and T-shirt, despite the fact that they had turned down his proposal.
