Experts across various sectors of the economy have advised entrepreneurs and captains of industry in Nigeria to prioritise the acquisition of new skills and development of the marketplace to harness business opportunities in Africa.

Mr Manasseh Dogon, a marketplace mentor and host of the conference of Marketplace Stakeholders Africa said this in his speech at the gathering in Abuja.

The meeting was a revolutionary conference organised by Maime Innovation Foundation in collaboration with the Metropolitan Church to bring together market leaders, creators, innovators, and business people in different sectors across African countries.

“The marketplace stakeholders’ conference which is planned to be held quarterly also serves as a platform for other African countries to maximise and explore the diverse opportunities within the African continent for the development of the marketplace..

“The objective behind Marketplace Stakeholders Africa conference is to further educate entrepreneurs and young minds on how best to leverage skills and potentials through productive intelligence and exposing them to the next “blueprint” for Africa.

“Through production intelligence, we discover that so many human and capital resources have been left untapped in Africa,” he noted.

According to him, the conference is an avenue for captains of industry to view Africa from a world-class perspective, and explore the inherent opportunities being offered by the world.

“Overcoming barriers in business has to do with self-management, We always throw too many expectations upon leaders.

“Africans must tell the African stories themselves, We must look within ourselves and see the inherent potentials in every one of us as individuals,

“We must understand and look at the world from a global perspective because the world has bigger things to offer us than we’re seeing,” he added.

Also speaking, Mr Ehiogie Osaigbovo, the Vice President, National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NATA), said the idea behind the marketplace is to teach the industry know-how to the youths to equip them on knowing not just how to get a job but how to create jobs themselves.

“When it comes to capital, what we look at most times is location dynamics. Most people believe capital is all about money.

“That conceptualisation is wrong. In Nigeria your first capital is relationship,” he said.