Showcasing the entrepreneurial spirit at Alvan Ikoku, a final year student of the Biology department, Miss Confidence Chisom Onyedimma has bagged the coveted Prince Osita Ivans Ugwuoti Entrepreneurship prize for innovative ventures, taking home a cash award of One Hundred Thousand Naira. This recognition, bestowed by the Prince Osita Ivans Ugwuoti Foundation in partnership with the Biology department, highlighted the impact of Alvan Ikoku’s pro-entrepreneurship environment and shone a light on the ingenuity and business acumen burgeoning within our student community.
Confidence Chisom Onyedimma’s fashion accessories business, Confy Jewels took home the prize after her passion and impressive business acumen impressed the judges in a competition with over thirty entries.
Some criteria for students to participate in the competition were that participants must have a registered business and that the business will have an online presence and a brand name. Also, participants would have an entrepreneurship mindset, show leadership in business, have a drive for innovation, and be creative and enterprising.
Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony, the Director of Entrepreneurship at the University, Dr. (Mrs.) Bridget Obi informed students in the audience that the essence of entrepreneurship education was to teach them to be self-reliant and be employers of labour.
The Head of Biology Department, Dr. (Mrs.) A. V. Azoro admonished the contestants to “Go with you today the tools which you have come with and the fruits which you have reaped, and plant somewhere else the good seeds of the fruit.”
Miss Confidence Onyedimma, the Chief Executive Officer of Confy Jewels, revealed that she got into business two years ago because she always wanted to have her own money without bothering anyone. Her mission at Confy Jewels is to “sell quality and affordable accessories which help enhance people’s looks.”
Explaining that the institution’s entrepreneurship classes were an eye-opener and very helpful, Miss Onyedimma narrated how the classes enabled her to see her mistakes in business and to correct them. “I learnt that for every business, you should have a target audience and your product has to be useful to the buyer for them to buy it. I will never forget the Ps of marketing: price, product, promotion, place and so many other things I can’t even mention.”
In her trademark consistency, the CEO of Confy Jewels reported that she had already re-invested her prize money into the business.
