I had an opportunity for an elaborate interview with this young and inspirational great achiever. I can assure you that you will learn a lot/enjoy this piece and be inspired greatly. It is abridged in part and totally worth it. The concluding part will be posted later. Enjoy as you read.
Thanks for having us.
Thank you.
Can we get to meet you, who is Akachi Nwoke?
Am the CEO of Emerald TV. EMERALD TV is a satellite TV station based here in Nigeria but reaching 49 countries in Africa and is an entertainment station. Am also the president of Emerald TV Forum across the world.
That's very nice and inspirational.
Thank you.
How did it all start for you, I mean, how you started your business/activities that you are at the level you are now? I know that Emerald TV didn't just come to be. There must have been some things that happened along the line before the birth of Emerald TV…
Okay, it started like a vision I had several years ago to own a media station. I wanted to have a voice in this generation and I know one of the best ways to do it is through the media. So, I had a vision to have a TV station, not really a TV station, but a media house and we landed in TV. The vision has been birthed by the things I listened to. I listened to things that build up courage and it's been an awesome time doing it, but it all started with a vision I had several years ago and then I worked towards it and today it's a reality. Emerald TV is three years this year.
It is actually doing very strongly.
It is.
Obviously, in this generation, you are already a Voice by the grace of God; people are already listening to you.
(Chuckles) By the grace of God, yes.
A whole lot of impact is being birthed.
By the grace of God.
When people see successful people, they are too excited about their successes without knowing and asking about the difficulties they may have passed through to get to the level where they are. But I know for every successful person, you must have faced obstacles, you must have done one or two things to get to where you are. Obviously, you may have had your difficulties and experiences also. Could you let us into some of these experiences?
I don't have any peculiar experiences or challenges. The challenge I have is one that is common to every young Nigerian which are things like lack of access to capital. I faced that problem when I was starting. I needed a 100 million naira to float a TV a station. I didn't have money. I was just an Aba boy running up and down, but I didn't have that kind of money. It was a huge challenge to raise that kind of money. I didn't actually raise that money. We started small. I spent six months finding out how to do it without the money. So we started very small, very small, very raw and it was a very huge challenge, but we had to overcome it. We invested time since we didn't have the money because time is also a replacement for money. So one of the challenges that I faced and I am still facing is raising capital because there are bigger things I want to do also. Robert Kiyosaki said, 'the toughest job of an entrepreneur is not the idea generation but is in raising capital.' There is working capital, there is start-up capital. There are seven kinds of capital and an entrepreneur needs to raise capital over and over again; it's not a one-time thing. That was one.
Then, because of the kind of work I do, the other challenges I had were internet bandwidth problem in Nigeria and power. Thank God we have been able to solve that problem now. Where I live now, we have light almost all the times. They take light for like two, three or four times in a whole month. Also, I have unlimited bandwidth for internet. So, those problems have been solved and I believe anybody who cares to know how they can solve their own challenge also, they can overcome it.
That's very inspiring
Thank you sir.
Similarly to that, while you were having those challenges, did you at any time think of quitting, think of giving-up since there were so many challenges; a lot of money required and the rest of that? Did you think of quitting?
I have thought of quitting one million times.
So, what kept you going?
I have a daily routine. I listen to four audio messages daily. I was listening to one before you arrived and this is the third one for the day. Every time I listen to these words, they build up faith in me, they build up courage in me that says that I can, that I am even more than what I am trying to do. This daily routine has kept me on and I have done this for several years now. My laptop is filled with thousands of things that build faith. I don't listen to materials that are not edifying. I listen to things that build up the mind, that inspire the soul and that's what I spend my time doing. I don't really do the operations. I just spend time to listen to these things and they build up faith in me. I have tried to quit a whole lot of time. The most recent one was when we were trying to launch the one million jobs project. It took me four days of discouragement to actually come out boldly to the media and announce that we were going to do that project. This was because every time I wanted to talk about it, to announce that we were going to create one million jobs in this recession, I felt like- 'oh, don't try that', but every time I listen to these messages again and I listen to them over and over and over again and over again. This is because the words of God are very powerful. I listen to them over and over again. It is powerful. It can create, it is creative also. So, every time I listen to it, it builds up courage and I am challenged to do more. There are bigger things I want to do and the more I listen to these things, I am going to do them.
It is not surprising the amount of things you have been able to do so well and achieve. One can now see the point where these things come from. Now that you mentioned the one million jobs project, could you throw more light on it?
We created a website for ICT people( information and communication technology people), where they can work for us virtually. So, a web designer, an app developer, a graphic artist, an animator, a video editor can go to the website, www.1mjobs.org and register to work for us from anywhere. We actually want to recruit a million people who will work for us. We are getting these jobs from everywhere across the world, ICT jobs. Just like what China did. China made their home, the home of production. Anybody who is thinking of production now goes to China. That's the same thing. We are trying to build this hub in Africa that no matter what people come to do in Africa, they come to Nigeria and Africa also.
I must commend that vision.
Thank you sir.
Absolutely, the vision is a selfless one. It is not all about Akachi Nwoke. It is about empowering people. I believe God will give you the grace and the enablement to see the vision to its fruition.
Amen.
I also deduced from your course of study at school that you did not study ICT related course at school, but you have made a successful entry and you are playing successfully in the ICT area. How did this happen and how easy was it to make this transition from what you studied in school to IT and you are doing successfully?
Ok, I have always wanted to be in the IT world but because of JAMB and our academic system, I couldn't get admission when I wanted to. Even when I got admission to study agriculture, I actually applied for an IT related course, but I was given agriculture. So, I didn't want to give that up and studied agriculture, but even from day one, I knew I was not an agric student. I was attending classes of ICT people, I was helping them write their projects, I was building myself up during school not in the agric sector, but in the ICT sector. So, it helped me and during my vacations, I will go to volunteer to places where I can work without money. It helped me to build. So, with the agriculture, I have the certificate, but in the ICT, I am grounded because I have been on it for a very long time.
Could you throw more light on some of this? This is because the essence of this interview is not just for us to talk, but for younger Nigerians, the youths to be inspired, for those who will be reading this magazine to be inspired, to have insight and understanding into the opportunities they can tap into. Could you throw a little more light on the opportunities that are inherent in the ICT sector?
Okay, there are a whole lot of opportunities in the ICT world, but like I would always say, it's basically to look at what the market wants and you will give the market what it wants. Right now, the market is trending towards electronic currency, crypto currency, live streaming, live broadcast, social media, marketing and all that. That's where the trend is headed. There are more in-depth things, but these are the core places where the trend is headed. In the past, people used to study computer engineering, how to repair computers and all that. We see to day, it is no longer trending because when your computer has a problem, you throw it into the trash and you get another one. Now, more opportunities abound in the software part of computing, what people can do on the system. For me, I am seeing opportunities in the electronic currency because the fiat money, the paper money is going to fail. The future is e-currency (electronic currency), the future is crypto currency. These are the opportunities I am seeing as a person. It's basically to give the market what it wants. I have seen that the market that the market is hungry for the things I mentioned, but somebody else may be seeing some things I am not seeing. It's just to study your demography and know what does my market need that I can offer? What problems can I solve in the ICT market? It's a very vast market.
That's very interesting. That means anybody can be empowered and can live on ICT in the contemporary world?
Yes, if they care to know how.
Let's delve back to EMERALD TV. Talk more on Emerald TV which is the major project from your stables. Talk more on it.
Emerald TV has ten million viewers and is accessible on MYTV or STRONG Decoder anywhere in Africa. It's an entrepreneurship channel that we created to broadcast these things I listen to that changed my life. I actually believe they can change the lives of many people. So, the same thing I listen to and watch, we air them on Emerald TV and they are transforming the lives of many who are watching. Actually, right now, it is the best channel on MY TV platform across Africa. We are trying to do more. Every day, we are thinking, we are planning, we are strategizing on how to do more to become more. We want to make the society sane through the media because people become what they watch. So, we know that if we project the right things and people watch them and watch them over again, they are going to become what they are watching. That's why we are dedicated to doing.
That's very commendable. I know Emerald TV will go higher and higher.
Amen.
From your projection, what is the outlook like in the next five years for EMERALD TV, what should we expect from your stables?
We are hopeful that in the next five years, we are going to be on all local, terrestrial and satellite, but mainly, internet-based platforms because TV is leaving the conventional way and is going digital. So, in the next five years, we will be on all the platforms, especially on the internet. On the internet, there are a lot of platforms also, not just to broadcast over your website, there are other platforms also on the internet. Mainly, in the next five years, we are hopeful that we have been able to raise thousands of millionaires across the nations. We would have been able to have changed the mindset of people as they watch, as these ten million people watch and then as we increase the number, we are hopeful that a lot more is going to happen to their minds. People can change locations, people can change their clothes, people can change spouse, but until they change their mind, there is no known impact that will happen. So, we are more of working on the mind, the spirit and the soul of these viewers and we are hopeful that in the next five years, they are going to become better people in their societies. They are going to become change agents also. Our slogan is, 'the station that transforms society.' So, we are hopeful that in the next five years, for every country where our presence is, we would be able to raise change agents that will transform society.
That's very commendable and I buy into the vision of Emerald TV which I know by the grace of God, it will materialize into fruition.
Yes.
I must say you take daring steps. For a young man like you taking that step to own a TV station. I must state at this juncture that Emerald TV is a real TV station. It's a real TV station that you can hook up to and watch from the comfort of your home. Just get your STRONG Decoder and then you link up to Emerald TV and watch the inspirational, highly informative, highly transformative programs from the stables of Emerald TV. I must commend you. You take daring steps and this has resulted in you doing a whole lot. I know that the success of people is usually in their daily routines. Can you let us into your daily routines; things that you do daily that make you to experience the success you have, the enviable success you that so many youths want to have the same.
(Chuckles) Okay, I have seven basic routines every day. The first one is that I talk with God every morning when I wake up. So, I have a prayer routine that I do. It's not just a routine, it's a way of life. I pray every day not just in the morning, but I pray always. I pray about projects, I pray about things, I pray about the nation, I pray about our generation. So, the first one is that I am in constant touch with God. I talk with God through prayers. That's one and secondly, ah, my second routine is the four messages I have to listen to every day whether am tired, whether am traveling, whether am in the airplane, whether am in the airport, whether am in the village, no matter where I am, I have to listen to those four tapes every day. It's a daily routine I have to abide by.
The third routine is, I check what is going on in the global market especially the foreign exchange transactions. I need to be updated with what is going on in the global economy because it also informs my decisions. So, I need to know what is going on in the global market. So, every morning when I wake up, I log in to check how is the naira doing over the dollar, over the pound sterling, over the euro and all that, what is happening in the global economy. So that's the third routine that I do.
The fourth one is that I have to read. You see me, am always on the computer trying to read up new things and to also practice new things. Like today, I have learnt something that I didn't know before. I even got someone to pay me to do this. I got an organization to pay me. I have been trying to but, because of the schedule, I have not been able to. This particular stuff that I learnt now is a higher form of live broadcast. So, an organization called me and asked if I could do that and I said yes. They brought me to Abuja and in the course of doing it, I have learnt it. So, but every day, I have to learn something new.
The fifth one is that I travel a whole lot. It helps me in the path of exposure. One of the prices for greatness is exposure. You have to be exposed, you have know what other people are doing also. Like I was living in Aba, Abia state until I travelled to the US for the first time and I saw what young people like us were doing. It challenged me a whole lot and changed my life forever. So, I keep travelling to see new cultures, see new things, see what people are doing, young people like us across the world to see what they are doing. I have been to several countries in the last few weeks. I travel, am always travelling. So that's the fifth routine that I do.
The sixth one is that am always on the phone making calls, making contact, calling clients because we need to pay the bills and all that. So, everyday, I have to call like 12 clients, 12 new clients, I have to call them. We are doing that to expand our business and then, I have taught my staff also to do that because you can't just stay and money will be coming. So, we have to keep expanding our market until we have a good market share. So these are the routines I do and then I make new friends.
I also believe anybody who adopts these same routines will definitely find him or herself in enviable success.
I also want ask, from what you have said now, your time is so much busy. You are involved in speaking to audiences around the country, Africa and beyond. You run Emerald TV, you run your ICT businesses and a whole lot more. How are you able to do all of these successfully? I mean, within 24 hours, you are able to do all of these things- you read, you listen to messages, you inspire, you pray and things like that. How are you able to do all of these things?
Okay, I have a personal conviction that man is extremely powerful. We can do whatever we want to do with limited time. Although, one of my greatest strategies is that I delegate a whole lot of things. Though, for these routines, I can't delegate them, but for most other things, I can delegate them. Like in Emerald TV, I have people that do every thing. In Emerald TV, I just monitor what they are doing and then I can log into the system and see what everybody is doing from anywhere I am in the world. It helps me to solve that. While traveling, am always working also. I may be in the airplane for thirteen hours, one hour, two hours. I may be listening to tapes while in the airplane. So, it helps me to accomplish all these. I think I am not busy yet. I want to do more things, there are more things to be done. I think I have more free times. I think I want to do more things.
That's very good and I know more things are coming. Greater things are coming by the grace of God.
Yes o. Thank you.
I must also commend your humility, very unassuming. I mean, for a young man like you that has achieved a whole lot and you are still this humble. It takes a whole lot.
It's God.
How are you able to do this? How are you able to remain humble and remain approachable even with these successes that you have experienced? How are you able to maintain this attitude of humility?
I was raised up the Christian way, God kind of way. God said, '… we should raise up a child in the way he should go...' So, I want to appreciate my parents. They did a good job in that. They raise me up that way. I wouldn't take special credit in that. They raised me in the way of God and God loves humble people. God actually said, 'I give more grace to the humble.' So, anybody who wants more needs to be humble. I was taught these things in Sunday school, I was taught these things while I was growing up and then they were instilled not just in my hearing but in my heart. So, I grew up with them and I am going to abide by those principles forever. Just like when we were growing up, we were taught not to drink alcohol and till today, I have not tested alcohol. We were taught not to do certain things-don't steal from people, don't do this, don't do that. Those commandments, those principles, I still live by them. Those are the things our society is needs today. Anywhere those values can be found, there are treasures. So, I want to give that credit to my parents, most especially to God for giving us the bible to guide us and show us the way to live.
(Please, stay with this blog for the concluding part of this interview).
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your Comments are Appreciated