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Inspiring story of my entrepreneurial journey — Iloanya, Abutex CEO
It’s unarguable that people, who can identify business opportunities in Nigeria, know that the oil industry is not the only business that can put food on your table.
While there are a thousand and one business opportunities out there that can help to transform your life overnight, it behooves on a wise man to have a foresight for such businesses. That’s what sets Iloanya Abuchi Vincent, the CEO of Abutex Food Equipment, a leading kitchen and home equipment company apart from other entrepreneurs in the country.
Iloanya believes that the greater the amount of risk an investor is willing to take, the greater the potential return. This core beliefs has defined the paths he has taken in life, and such that has brought great wealth to him in the long run.
The 27-year-old entrepreneur ventured into the home equipment business when many saw no business in it. But with determination and perseverance, he is a success story today.
Sharing his inspiring story in a recent chat with Sunday Vanguard, Abuchi said he started small in way and leveraging on his experience to reach and add value to his increasing list of clientele.
‘ I ventured into the business after I completed my secondary education. My parents sent me out to do apprentice for my boss. So, I patiently served my boss for six years under this field then after which I set up my business,’ he recounted.
Iloanya established his business empire in 2009, and today, he’s one of the market leaders in Nigeria.
According to him, equipment sales and marketing remains one of the most lucrative but overlooked businesses in Nigeria. ‘Very lucrative but that is if you know what you are doing, and especially the tricks of the business. I mean if you understand the business very well,’ he stressed.
Speaking further, Iloanya who hails from Anambra State said his business started booming with the advent of social media. ‘My business expanded long time ago when I started patronizing popular sites such as Jiiji.ng and OLX for marketing tools. But it blew the moment we started using Instagram. Instagram has been a blessing to me.
I won’t lie. Instagram exposed my business to the world and connected me to so many big people in the society. Celebrities and politicians who connected with us via Instagram now patronize us on a large scale,’ he enthused.
As a young entrepreneur, Iloanya’s business has grown from a small scale business to a reputable organization in commercial kitchen and laundry equipment industry in Nigeria.
Although the business is increasingly becoming competitive, Iloanya said his experience and ingenuity has kept him on the top. “We have been able to build a structure around our restocking process, so it’s getting better, per day,” he added.
Revealing that he has always dreamt of becoming his own boss, following the passion he has for trading, Iloanya said part of his future plans is to build a kitchen and equipment factory in the country.
“My future plan is to build a factory in Nigeria, where we can produce some of these machines. This would also create more employments for our youths,” Iloanya said.
