Mayokun Makanjuola, a 29-year-old graduate of the University of Lagos, is the Chief Executive Officer of Lightbulb Engineering Limited. He shares his experience as a manufacturer of nails and bags in this interview with ’FEMI ASU
Can you briefly talk about your business?
Lightbulb Engineering Limited is a manufacturing outfit with two major arms of production namely Lightbulb Construction and Lightbulb Packaging.
Lightbulb Construction is into the manufacturing of round wire nails, which are widely used by both carpenters and construction companies. The nails are sold to wholesalers in sacks by weight generally ranging from 20kg to 25kg. They are also sold in retail in smaller packs.
Lightbulb Packaging is into the manufacture of various types of bags that serve a wide variety of purposes. They range from souvenir bags to shopping bags to suit carrier bags to laundry bags to knap sacks/ rock sacks to shoe bags and many more. Lightbulb Packaging provides majorly practical and unique packaging solutions for bed sheets, duvets, pillows, clothing and fabrics.
Beyond these, we take up the challenge of coming up with creative packaging for any new products introduced to us.
What informed your decision to start Lightbulb Engineering? Did you study anything related to what you do now?
I believe I was born curious. As far back as I remember, I have always loved using my hand in exploring just about any ‘mysterious’ object within reach and as I grew older, so did my desire to understand how and why things work, especially science-related ‘stuffs’.
Even though I may not have understood the worth of gift or talent early in life, I was privileged to have parents who were observant enough to identify it early in life. Therefore, when I finished my undergraduate degree in the department of mechanical engineering and was about to venture into a very expensive overseas master’s programme, my dad asked me whether I would be interested in starting up my own business.
To him, this was a way better option than joining the “masters” bandwagon which will only end in my returning to Nigeria and joining the job market rat race. He was willing to invest in my business the very money that would have been used for my choice master’s programme. I thought about it and felt it was a brilliant idea, especially knowing the kind of person I was. So, I gladly jumped at the opportunity.
I got the capital to run my business through the support of my dad and virtually my entire family.
When did you start out as an entrepreneur?
I studied mechanical engineering at the University of Lagos, went for the National Youth Service Corps programme and, thereafter, started up a nail manufacturing company which is totally related to my field of study. I loved the fact that I was able to practicalise and see first-hand some of the things which I had been taught during my undergraduate days. So, this was a lot of fun for me.
I will add that I feel very blessed to have taken on this role when I did. This is in the light of the fact that there are so many would-be entrepreneurs out there who have been unable to chase their dreams due to the unavailability of the much-needed funds to establish a business.
How has the journey been so far?
The journey has been both interesting and challenging, especially in this economic climate of Nigeria. At the beginning, in my bid to gain access to the market, everyone tried to take advantage of me because I was new in the business and didn’t yet have a strong brand in the market. Managing staffers that believe you have all the money in the world has been challenging. Also, learning how to work around operational and trade challenges has also been challenging.
However, the gradual mastery of each phase has ushered in a lot of joy and satisfaction.
What difference do you want to make in the industry where you operate?
I operate in an industry and a country where many people thrive on being insincere and fraudulent at the expense of quality. I, therefore, want my company to be one which meets up with producing quality innovative goods that bring the ultimate satisfaction to our different levels of customers. I want to stand for quality, innovation, reliability and satisfaction.
What were the major challenges you encountered when you started?
The major challenge I encountered when I started my business is what all Nigeria-based manufacturers still face up to now: the menace of crippling power supply. If you don’t have light to run your machines, then your brilliant production ideas become a total waste of time.
So, you are forced to run a generator which adds to the overhead cost of your business and the little profit you ought to be making as a start-up is drained by the generator cost, which includes both the fuel and maintenances charges that are often exorbitant.
There was also a major challenge in sourcing for raw materials. The raw material for the production of nails was majorly imported from overseas which meant a huge amount of capital was needed in order to bring them in. This indirectly means that start-up companies like mine didn’t have the financial muscle to bring in the raw materials and had to buy from companies which did and this would invariably mean the cost of purchase of raw material goes up.
How are you coping with them?
Our major challenge at the moment is power supply. We have been trying to find a way around it by working whenever power is available, whether during the day time or night time. So, whenever power is available, we work.
As a result of the constant rise in the price of the dollar in relation to the naira, there has been a constant rise in the price of raw materials used in the production of goods. This, in turn, makes it much more difficult to purchase raw materials for production and has a direct impact on the total cost of production of finished goods. This ultimately makes it more difficult to sell the finished goods in the market.
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