LAGOS SHIFT 2020 (9.0 EDITION) – A RCCG YOUNG ADULTS AND YOUTH AFFAIRS (YAYA) INITIATIVE – THEME: RISE TO SHINE

GUEST SPEAKER: MR MITCHELL ELEGBE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, INTERSWITCH)

TOPIC: THAT NEW NORMAL VIEW

DATE: 3RD MAY, 2020

INTRODUCTION

A very brilliant afternoon to you all.

On behalf of the Assistant General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God Young Adult and Youth Affairs (RCCG YAYA), Pastor Peter Amenkhienam and the National Youth Pastor, Pastor Precious Akingbade; I welcome you all to Lagos shift 2020 tagged “Rise to shine”.

OPENING PRAYER

Shall we Pray!

Our Father and Lord, we thank you for your Grace and your Mercy. We thank you for Lagos Shift all the way from Season One (1) to Season Nine (9).

Thank You for the lives that have been impacted, Thank You for the one that you have Prepared to impact us today. Thank You for the Vessels that you are going to use.

Lord, we surrender all the Proceedings into your Hands; Daddy Please use them all to Glorify Your Name.

In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen!

Please join me to welcome the Assistant Youth National, Pastor Shift – Pastor Jacob Obaro.

Thank you!

WELCOME ADDRESS BY PASTOR JACOB OBARO

Once again, welcome to this Special Edition of SHIFT 2020.

SHIFT is an Initiative of the Young Adult and Youth of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (YAYA OF RCCG).

It is designed to nurture and discover God’s Given Talent and ability in Upward Mobile Young Men and Women across the Globe.

Lagos Shift started nine (9) years ago and through this Program, we have Physically reached thousands of young men and women in the city of Lagos.

Every year, several Youths are financially empowered to use their God’s Given Talent to secure better lives for themselves.

Today, we are reaching you Online on this Platform in response to the Global challenge that has led to Social Distancing and Restriction of free movement in order to curb and curtail the spread of coronavirus disease.

And we also realised that COVID-19 will bring about a New Normal in the entire world.

Therefore, our objective today in Lagos Shift 2020 with the theme “RISE TO SHINE” is to encourage and motivate young men and women all over the world to rise and take advantage of the opportunities Presented by COVID-19.

I believe without any doubt in my heart that you will rise and shine now and forever in the Name of Jesus.

Please, sit back and be blessed.

MODERATOR:

Thank you very much Pastor Obaro.

Before we proceed to invite our Guest Speaker, please note we will like to encourage you to listen attentively to every communication that he will be sharing with you so that you can be able to ask important questions.

For the Question Session, please we would like you to drop your comment and your questions in the Session on the Facebook and YouTube.

It is very important we like to take your feedback, so that he can answer these questions.

We are ready!

Right now we will be taking the Introductory Video to usher in our Guest Speaker.

… Listen and be Blessed.

THE PROFILE OF MR MITCHELL ELEGBE

Mitchell Elegbe is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Interswitch – An Integrated Payment and Transaction Company in Nigeria.

He is a Graduate of Electrical Engineering from the University of Benin.

He was formerly with Schlumberger Wiring And Testing, an ICT, Engineering and Consulting Company until 2002 when he started Interswitch Group where he is currently the Group Managing Director and CEO.

In 2012, he was awarded the West Africa Business Forum Award at a Ceremony of the all Africa Business Media Award Ceremony organized by CMBC Africa.

He is an Entrepreneur Award Recipient of the Year in the General Management Category in 2015.

He is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership institute.

Please, welcome to Lagos Shift 2020, Rise to Shine, Mitchel Elegbe.

MITCHELL ELEGBE:

Good Afternoon, its a Pleasure to be here to have some words with you about Rise to Shine.

My understanding is that this is the first time this is being done Online and as you all know is because of the current challenges that we face.

We all know that wherever there are challenges, there are opportunities.

It is a Good Thing that despite the challenges that we face, we are able to see the opportunities that comes within that challenge to still have this section.

Now, when thinking of what to share with you today, lots of things came into my head.

In the last two (2) weeks that I have been invited to all form of Webinars, Experts talking about what will likely happen with COVID-19.

It doesn’t really matter which part of the world you are in, whether you are in Europe, in Asia or even in Africa.

The question on everyone mind is: What is the world going to be like, post COVID-19?

One of the things that I have tried to do growing up is to try not to always go with what everybody think.

Sometimes, it is very common for people to form an anchor, repeat what somebody has said without analyzing deeply the degree to Propagate it and everybody falls in line and they missed opportunities that exist within the content of what is being shared.

A wise man once said that when one door closes another one opens.

The first time I heard that statement I tried to ask myself who shut the first door and who opens the second one?

Overtime, my experience has taught me that all the doors were opened at the initial, but we only rushed to get into one. Your eyes started to open to see other opportunity when that one repeat and started to close.

So,one of the thing I hope to leave with you today is how to Proactively keep your eyes open for all the opportunities that abound and take a decision knowing fully well that the fact you have chosen to go in one direction doesn’t mean that is the only direction out there and be open minded enough to see other opportunities as they arise so that you can go after them.

So, what will I be like in Post COVID-19?

I have friends who work in the Allied Industries – they are all home.

Most of them have been told they will only earn half of their salaries.

Some of them don’t even believe they will be going back to work.

So, they have started to think of what to do with themselves knowing fully well that the World may not be the same.

If you are in the choosy business, it is going to be the same thing.

I’m in the Payment Business, we have seen new behaviours – Some Places, transactions have gone down.

For example, if you use to be in the Betting world, a lot of those who do Sport Betting are not betting anymore because there is no Sport Season going on – That is an impact. But people in the Telecom Industry are experiencing a boom.

People are home, they need to communicate, they are topping up their Phones, they are buying data. People are paying for their electricity because it now means to use Power at home. People are paying for their Utility Bills. Some Supermarkets Chains have learnt how to supply to your homes. People in the Logistics Business are getting opportunities to do well.

So what does that really mean for us?

It simply means that despite the challenges of COVID-19 within COVID-19 itself, there are certain Industries that are booming.

As a Youth that live in a country like Nigeria, what are the opportunities open to you.

My view of the world Post COVID-19 is that the world will go back to Normal.

And I will like to repeat myself that, at least from the Popular Position, my view is that the world will go back to normal but it will be a new normal.

So, what I will like to share with you today is what I theme “That New Normal View”.

A few Months ago, if you have told me as the CEO of Interswitch that I should encourage my staff to work from home; I will tell you we are not ready – That has been my Position for many years.

When we say we want to work from home, there are certain Systems that must be in Place for people to work from home.

Will you be able to track the Output of people who work from home to be sure they are contributing just like they would have contributed if they were working from the office.

COVID-19 came, we had the opportunities to put all the Systems in Place and we told everybody, go home and work from home.

Guess what, without Good Systems in Place, people won’t have been working from home.

In fact most of my colleagues tell me that they appear to be working longer hours now than they were to working while in the office. They reach out to work when they can’t go anywhere else and I believed them because that is the situation we are in.

After this particular Session, I have a meeting at 3pm, I have another 4:30pm.

Before now, I would never accept any meeting on Sunday.

So, the world is going to go back to normal, but its going to be a New Normal and what is going to be New in that Normal and how can the Youth of this country take the advantage of the New Normal?

I believed that most companies will be willing , for example, to allow their staff work a few day in a week from home.

If a staff who spend three (3) hours in a traffic daily gets the opportunity to avoid spending those three (3) hours, you can imagine the boost in Productivity that Company will now have over.

A lot of Young Staff who have been involve in selling through one form or the other will begin to understand the Power of Internet. They have always known this, but there is an opportunity to even go deeper in it.

In Nigeria with lot of challenges but Nigeria also has some Good Things going for it.

1. First, we have a very Youthful Population.

Statistics out there tells us that we have roughly sixty percent (60%) of our Population being Youthful.

What happens when a Country has a lot of Youth and how does this Youth embrace Technology?

We also have statistics out there that tells us that the adoption of Mobile and Mobile Internet in Nigeria is extremely high.

What that tells us is that Nigerians in one form or the other appears to have adopted this thing called Technology.

So, if you are in any Business Venture that doesn’t leverage on Technology especially Mobile Telephony and the Internet, then perhaps you are missing out on a very huge opportunity.

2. Another thing about Nigerians is Glamour.

Glamour in this country and when I talk about Glamour, I am not talking about Fashion – It goes into direction of anything that makes you live or thrive in a very Glamourous way and these are opportunities that are existing also.

More important is the fact that Nigeria still remain by and large a Country.

I will advice if you are seeking opportunities go closer to opportunities that affected a day -to-day life of people.

It is very common for you to be told that the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of Nigeria when compared to other countries is extremely low. Therefore, the conclusion is that the opportunities to grow a business is not high here – That is not so.

For those of you who followed the history of GSM (Global System For Mobile Communications) in this country; they would have heard the initial Business Plan, the Business Care for Mobile Telephony for any of the Technology whatsoever was blown out completely.

The same people that we thought will not be able to afford Mobile Phone were able to afford it by the help of God.

What that tells me Fundamentally, Structurally is that there is something about this Nigeria Market where we need to reach out beyond the Traditional of two hundred million (200,000,000) people.

There is hardly anything you do that won’t thrive if you ensure that these few basic Principles are followed:

1. First, what problems are you trying to solve?.

Few days ago a gentleman approach me and talked about an idea he has been nursing for five (5) Years.

As a matter of fact, he was sent to me by a Pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) who said: ‘This young man has been talking to him about this and he will like me to listen to the young man’ and I did.

I struggled to understand a particular challenge that this young man was trying to solve.

The challenges with most ideas coming from the Youth is that they fail to realise that people patronize you because they have a challenge, they have a problem and that they want a solution to that problem.

… The bigger the problem the better!

So the first question you are going to ask yourself whatever you are going to do Post COVID-19 is that:

A. What problem am I trying to solve?

B. Who has that problem because the person who is going to pay you ideally should be the Person that has the problem and what will this Person pay me?

C. What can this Person afford?

Most times, you must know how much you can make from a business before you start the business. You don’t start the business first and begin to figure out after deducting the cost how much they are going to charge you.

You should know how much you can charge, how much people can pay before you even start the business.

So, that is pointer number one Post COVID.

2. Pointer number two is: What is your Business Model?

I interact with a lot of Young people and I ask them what is your Business Model and every time they tell me what they think their Business Model is.

It occurred to me that either they do not understand what a Business Model is or they actually have no Business Model.

I have a very simple definition for Business Model – Your Business Model is your secret for making money.

If it is not a secret and everybody knows about it, then you are basically selling the commodity.

When you sell a commodity, you can always compete on the basis of Price and any Business where you always compete at the basis of Price cannot be a sustainable Business – You are wasting your time.

And when we talked about Business Model; it is not about the problem itself – Its how you want to solve the problem.

And I will give you one (1) example with my son: Many Years ago or few Months back; Wale was in Secondary School.

He came up with this concept of Producing juice – Very, very lovely means.

He wanted Fresh Juice that people can have. He made some bottle, took them to school and sold it. He made a lot of money came back to me telling me how much he has made and I told him then I’m sure you don’t know how much your profit is? Have you considered this cost?

Guess what? When he has considered everything and he made good money and I was envious of him.

But one thing worried me and that is the fact that I did not think he had a Good Business Model because there was no secret about what he is doing – Anybody can do it.

To make a long story short he was trying to pivot the Business into something else because anybody can create Juice even at the comfort of their home – They don’t need you to do that for them.

That is a problem they can solve on their own.

As a Juice Maker, you need to buy some fruits and problem solve.

*So, what is the unique thing that you are doing that they cannot do on their own; that they will continue to pay you for Years? – It will sustain a business.

… So, know the problem you are trying to solve and secondly have a Business Model.

Business Model like I say is a secret for making money.

Let me give another illustration quickly: Imagine the Ship Titanic that we heard was drowned many years ago by what? – By the ice.

And most people think it is the iceberg – They saw the iceberg.

The iceberg is the ice that floats above the water.

And that the ship could have just push the iceberg away and it won’t be enough to breakup the ship.

What destroyed the Titanic was the part of the ice inside the sea, the big one that nobody saw that was the secret.

So, there is what people see that they see value and there is what people don’t see, your DNA – The secret and that is what you need to focus on trying to roll out your Businesses.

DMC EDITORIAL NOTE:

Biologically, the word DNA means: Deoxyribonucleic Acid.

DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. It is the Hereditary Material found in all living organisms. It contains the Genetic Instructions for the development and functioning of an organism. These instructions are passed from one Generation to the next Generation

3. The third idea that you need to worry more about is something, a very wise man who is late now George S Clason called ‘The Activity Trap’.

What is the “Activity Trap”?

And I say this a lot when I talk to Young people.

“Activity Trap” basically says that people get so involved in their day-to-day activities that they begin to forget the reason for those activities.

It is like climbing a fence with a ladder – You need to get to the top of the ladder and you realised that you put your ladder on the wrong fence till you climb the wrong fence all along.

And I see a lot of Young people get involved in an “Activity Trap”.

They are buying something, they are selling, they are doing one form of shopping or the other, they are making small small money or what I could call chicken change.

Ok, but they are not in the Business of making chicken change.

They are comfortable with what I likely call chicken change and forget the reasons why they started this thing in the first Place.

And, George Clason gave some advice and I like to share some of the advice with you:

I. The first one was to ask yourself five (5) questions:

1. What am I doing , where am I going ?

In other words I have a Business Idea; where I’m I going with this Business? What problem I’m I trying to solve? What are the Business Idea of my contemporaries?

My friend what is his Business Idea? What problem are my mates trying to solve?

We are in the same Community, in the same Country; which challenges, which problem that we are all trying to solve them? What problem I’m I trying to solve?

2. What problems are my colleagues trying to solve?
3. What I’m I doing to solve the problem I have identified?
4. What are my contemporary doing to solve the problem that they have identified?
5. Do I like my answers to these questions?

This is something I have applied all my life.

I read that book by George Clason in SS3. I came across it by chance, I have applied it.

When I was in Secondary School; I asked a question from my friend: What course are they trying to study?

A lot of them were trying to study something in the Sciences either Medicine or in the Engineering.

I now asked myself something: What were they going to do to support this dream they have for studying this particular course?

A friend of mine then in SS2 wrote GCE (General Certificate Examination). – The first time she wrote it in SS1 she didn’t do well she passed only one or two subjects. The second time she wrote in SS2 she made all A’s.

Before then, my objective was to get five (5) Credits but the moment my mates were all aiming for A’s, I changed my focus and started aiming for all A’s.
Ànd guess what I made all A’s.

I wanted to study Medicine but when I analysed the world we are living in, at that time Nigeria has come up with what they call the National Industrialization Plan. Again I stumbled upon it as a student and I realized that the whole Country was Planning for Industrialization. There will be a lot of opportunities for Engineers going forward.

So, I changed my mind from Medicine and I moved into Engineering – That was why I studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Benin.

After I became an Engineer and I started working with Slumberger like I said earlier, I scan the environment again told myself I wanted to move to Management quickly because that was what I thought was the opportunity.

Somebody had said that the Company of the future will be run by people who understand Technology.

So as an Engineer, I shifted to learn Management and I started in the direction of Management again.

What has this got to do with COVID-19?

And I will like to quickly round up here.

Nobody can look at the Crystal Ball and tell that the Post COVID-19 this is what Africa, this is what Nigeria, this is what the world will be like – Everybody is going to be Speculating.

Some may get it right, some may get it wrong.

Whether they get it right or wrong, it doesn’t change anything the world is going to go back to normal.

The Airlines will bounce back – They will do everything they can to make you and I travel again. They will give us the comfort that their Planes have been sanitized. 5hey will give us a rebate on tickets so cheap so that we can fly again.

… The world will go back to normal.

Tourism locations are not going just to be wiped out – They are going to create Incentives, Packages, Stock Packages to come back and bring life back to normal.

My staffs have been home for over a Month – They have started working from home before the official lockdown.

Now if there is an opportunity to go back to work tomorrow, and guess what everybody wants to go back to work nobody wants to work from home.

So the world is going to go back to normal.

We have to tell them before you go back to work, you must see solid situation.

The truth is that everyone wants to go back to work – The world is going to go back to normal.

So do not look into the future with fear, with apprehension as to what the world is going to become.

Nothing changes that fast. There is enough time for you and I.

For business to adapt to a New World Order, its not going to be big band.

But what you must not do not to loose sight of the fact that there is something called New infront of that Normal.

So, there will be some Changes – The challenge for you is how do you Change for this New Thing?

I learnt the fact that some Nigerians are not looking for Paid employment anymore, the Nature of work is going to Change and sometimes Personally surprised by the number of my colleagues.

Today I am more open to it because it help their Creativity.

In the Past , I used to think there is a big trouble, people want to work on their Terms and there are a lot of opportunities that are out there in a country of Two Hundred Million (200,000,000) people.

Don’t worry about what tomorrow holds, look forward to tomorrow with a lot of zeal, look out for opportunity, look out for the trend, pay attention to what is going on, be Prayerful about it and go in with confidence to chase.

Of course, bearing in mind some people who has done such things who has ever been successful or fail and lessons abound that you can learn from.

I will like to stop here now. I believe there will be opportunity to take some questions from you.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SESSION

Moderator: Thank you so much sir for that wonderful Communication.

We have a lot of questions. We will do our very best to manage them effectively.

1. A lot of people talk about being Passionate about what you do. Ànd that being passionate about the Business is sort of a Guarantee for success.

If I’m Passionate about what I am doing, I’m likely going to do very well in it.

Falling in love with what you do guarantee that you are going to be Prosperous in it.

What is your view about it .

Answer: The answer is NO – I will explain.

In every situation, Passion is necessary but Passion isn’t sufficient.

Every Industry, every Areas, has few Expertise that you must acquire to do well.

You need to make Passion with Skill and Expertise to excel.

Alright, thank you very much for that.

2. How do you harness opportunities when COVID-19 has mobbed up the few available in the System?

There are opportunities you have identified but they are no more fun, you have ran out of point. How will you be able to take that opportunity when it turns up.

Answer: Centrally, I think it was two (2) days ago, I had another Webinars where ARM has prepared to speak to about two hundred and fifty (250) Entrepreneurs.

My initial topic to them was going to be: Where Capital is necessary but Not Sufficient.

The mistake we all make is to think that our money is what we need to start a business – Very wrong.

I started Interswitch three (3) Years after my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

I wanted the Company with two hundred million naira (#200,000,000).

So, this Company – Interswitch that you are seeing, started with someone three (3) Years after National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). without one kobo.

How? – The way the world is created is such that those that have money sometimes don’t have the ideas, the knowledge and those that know that have knowledge, the ideas don’t have the money.

… Idea must meet money.

It is not Good Practice to use your money for your Business Idea.

If your idea cannot convince someone else to invest in you, I’m almost certain its not a Good Idea.

That is why we start up things with our money while we can do whatever we want with it and guess we squander it.

When I was a student at the University of Benin, I had an opportunity – I wanted to impact some Members of my family.

I had an idea, I went up to my roommate who was from a rich home. When I was getting two hundred Naira (#200) Per Month as allowance as a Student, he was getting one thousand, five hundred Naira (#1500) Per Month.

We were both studying Engineering and we were both aiming to Graduate with 2-1 (Second Class Upper Divisions).

We both did by the way.

But guess what? – I went up to him and I told him I need to borrow some money from you.

This is what I want to do with it. This is how long it is going to take me and this is how much I am going to pay back and this is the interest on top of it.

I had credibility, he was my roommate, he knew my Principles, he knew my Values – He gave me the money, I did the business, I paid him back the money with the interest.

After that he kept asking me for money for some ideas so that I can give him more money.

I didn’t have money but my background of not having money make me see opportunities.

He had money, he was comfortable, he had no reason to look for opportunities.

… So ideas has to meet opportunities.

I started doing Interswitch with two hundred million naira (#200,000,000.00) in 2002.

In 2010 we sold the business at evaluation of twenty six billion naira (#26,000,000,000.00).

I didn’t put one naira (#1) inside it.

So please, I have no sympathy for people who think that the absence of Capital is a reason not to Progress. If your idea is Good, there are people out there with money chasing people all about looking for ideas, they call them incubators, they call them all sort of names out there today looking for people to invest in if they have a Good solid ideas.

*… So my advise is: Don’t be sad, don’t feel bad about COVID-19 taking away your money. Just know money that will be left after what you called COVID-19 went into the pocket of someone else in the same COVID-19 period. So, while you are complaining that your money has left you, somebody is rejoicing that he has receive your money.

Is the cup crap full or is the cup crap empty or where do you stand?.

Moderator: Thank you very much sir for that. Idea must meet money.

3. Is collaboration the New Normal? – You had the ideas, you didn’t have money.

There is a challenge, a lot of people say I have an idea but I don’t want somebody to steal my idea – They have always been stealing my idea, it is no the first time.

Is collaboration the New Normal?

ANSWER: Ok, so first, if we go to the very definition of how idea come, it is extremely unwise. I don’t want to say stupid eh, Is extremely unwise to think that the idea you had, you are the only one that has it.

You are trying to solve a problem, what makes you think that, that problem you are trying to solve, that we all know you are not the only one that has the idea to solve the problem.

It is not very wise to think that way.

Ok, I like talking using myself as an example – Many years ago my Job Interment was Head of Business Solution Group.

My Job was to come up with New Ideas and hand them over to somebody else once I set them up.

So, one day I went to meet my Group Managing Director and I told him that Dr. I’m worried that all the New Ideas I am bringing out are given out to people and they are all running with them and doing well.

I’m wondering that one day I am going to run out of ideas.

She looked at me and said Mitchell not true – For as long as the world has problem, you will always create Solutions and with each New Solution you create, it will be better than the previous ones and she was very right.

So, today what I say to people is if you come up with an Idea and somebody steal from you and go to implement it, learn from the mistake or the good thing the person is going to do with your Idea and create another one.

Collaboration is the New Way to go that i can assure you and never worry about who is stealing ideas.

They were close to six companies I know of, and they were all controlled by people who own them.

The one that did very well was the one that was established by someone that had no money to control anything.

Sometimes, she doesn’t need to control from home and influence comes with what you had in your head – Control comes with what you have in your pocket.

They don’t have anything in their pocket, they are looking for control but fail to look at the influence they had which is your brain.

To make things happen, it is that influence that these people back you up for the Capital you need to expand.

So, collaboration is the way to go.

MODERATOR: thank you very much for that.

4. How do we enhance Economic Benefit after COVID-19?

How long do you think it will take for the Economy to bounce back and Job Security? – People have lost their job, people are likely going to lose their job. Some people are saying the Economy is in repression depression.

What do you say?

ANSWER: Ok – Unfortunately on this one I cannot look into the Crystal Ball and tell few things.

I will just give you an example – COVID-19 did not start with Nigeria, it started from China, seen in U.S and many other countries.

Just take a look at how these countries are handling theirs and how they are bouncing back and that should be an idea where Nigeria should see.

China had COVID-19, they are very disciplined about what they needed to do. Today, we are all buying mask, all sort of things from China.

China is bouncing back and we are all giving the little money we have to China to fuel the ability to bounce back.

Let’s come to Nigeria: When we say you are bouncing back, what are you bouncing back from? What exactly did we have that COVID-19 destroy?

I cant think of anything that COVID-19 has destroyed – COVID-19 has slow down certain things and that is why I said, this Country we are going to bounce back to normal.

Ok,how long I don’t know. If you are in the Airline Business, the moment they say we can all move freely; the Airlines will take their Aircraft, take them for what they needed to do and then back to business.

The Cinemas will open the next day – All they needed to do is that they have gone to take care of the place, disinfect it, everything is fine and everybody wants to go back.

The restaurants will open up, people who have been indoor will want to go out and eat.

So, for some industry, it will be immediate recovery. For some companies that are going through difficult time before now, they are basically using COVID-19 as an excuse to do those things they have always wanted to do.

So for them, it is not a case of bouncing back, it is a case of execution for what they have wanted to do before COVID-19, that COVID-19 basically allow them to do.

The man who had been sitting at home earns his livelihood daily. Those who need to go out everyday will recover immediately because his lifestyle is daily.

Your barbers, your hairdressing salons, all of them will recover immediately.

A lot of few ladies will know that the only things that has made you to look the way you are is because you have not been going out. Once you are free to go out, you are going back to the salons.

So, a lot of SME’s (Small-To-Medium Enterprise) will recover quickly – It will bounce back to normal.

The bigger business have started recovering.

If you are into FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) business – The business has been booming. People have been buying salt, it didn’t stop.

So ask yourself, lets just follow what is happening abroad: Which industry in Nigeria has relished us is really in big trouble because of COVID-19?

Everything is booming, people are buying the normal price, people are hiking up the price of goods because there is demand for mask they have not been using before. For sanitizers prices have gone up – So they have been booming.

Again I don’t think there is a big issue. Once you remain safe, it is time to go out there – we go back to business. Don’t worry too about what is going to happen, it is very easy.

If you are going to lose your job, you will not lose your job because of COVID-19.

People don’t lose job because of one (1) Month of staying at home and that is why I tell that Companies that relish are telling you, you will lose your job because of COVID-19 were already in big problem before COVID-19.

Most Companies should be able to take care of their workers salary for six (6) Months – That is what good Companies do.

So, if you are unable to do that, the question is fundamental because after COVID-19 which fundamental issues you had that made you not to be a Viable Business, that made you not to survive one (1) Month of COVID-19, it will remain it won’t go away.

MODERATOR: alright sir, thank you very much for that.

5. What can you say to Young people who are struggling with the basic Necessities of staying alive?

It seems one need a certain level of comfort to even Generate Ideas.

A young man that is hungry, he has not eaten, not even 1-1-1, how will he Generate Idea since one need a certain level of comfort to Generate Ideas?

Please sir, what are your thoughts?

ANSWER: Let’s think back History – Somebody should tell me one Innovation that came from one man or one woman that had all the comfort that they needed to have? – Just give me one Innovation that came out of somebody who was comfortable.

Let me tell you something, when you are hungry you hear better.

You can call it fasting – When you are hungry you hear better – You are more alive to pains, you see more opportunities.

It is not true that Innovations or Ideas come out of comfort – In fact, comfort made you complacent.

Don’t get me wrong I am not saying people are not suffering – People are and there are lot of people with Good Ideas.

They have not been blessed with opportunities to stand infront of someone who can assist them but what I do not subscribe to is that if you are hungry you can’t hear.

There are people who will buy that gist because I come from that background, I was very very hungry and ideas came in the midst of hunger.

So, I don’t know of any other way.

Okay. I apologise to those of you who think I have been hungry – The truth is that the hungrier you are, the more likelihood you will get Ideas – That is my fundamental belief.

MODERATOR: if I hear you correctly, you are saying stay hungry or stay foolish that we need to be hungry.

6. You are in the Payment Solution Industry – Online Transactions and Technologically has risen.

Let us look at E-Commerce with Online Transactions come Cyber Security, Cyber Fraud.

A young people in Nigeria has wrapped up a very bad reputation for the Nation, how do we address this moving forward because though, people make a great deal in this Season, they bought things Online.

What is your take: Cyber Security, Cyber Fraud, E-Commerce?

ANSWER: Okay – first let me say to you: Nigeria has a lot of challenges already.

In Interswitch, we have a System that tracks people from where they are coming from.

There are things not coming from Nigeria, they are coming from the country in the far East.

Here, I am not trying to mention a Specific Country but they are not Countries in Africa.

It is not true, let us not equate 419 (Number in the Law Codes from Fraudulent Activities) and all that kind of things or what you call Yahoo Yahoo or Cyber Crime.

When you are talking about Cyber Crime, it is somebody sitting down somewhere using Technology to take over your System.

It is not you talking on Phone that your Father owns a National stadium that you can sell it for one naira (#1). That is not what we are talking about here.

In the case of Cyber Fraud, Nigerians are not big in it. So,I will not want us to blame ourselves as that Country where there is no Cyber Criminals from the trend that we see is coming from.

Just like every other thing in life, there are bad people that tempt to use things to their advantage.

I keep saying when you make rules, you don’t make rules for those who will obey rules – You make rules for those who will not obey rules.

So, it will be unwise to do anything Online especially where the other Party is someone you cannot see.

You know the reason why Crime take Place at night is because you won’t even see the Person.

The same way, Cyber Crime you can’t see who the Other Party is, and so is a very Good Place to operate in darkness.

So, we take those challenges daily, but guess what the opportunities far outweigh the challenges.

Many Years ago, in this Country, people would queue in bank branches to get cash – They don’t do that anymore. In some way we are creating another problem. Before I see any Cyber Crime and we are not going to go back because of Cyber Crime.

Today somebody is here, they need help to transfer money to them. In less than a second and they go ahead to pay and they get treatment.

We are not going to go back because of Cyber Crime.

Today, people can stay in the comfort of their home, transact things Online and they get delivered. That convenience we are not going to throw away because of Cyber Crime.

So, what is going to happen is that: As company take Place, they will do whatever it takes to protect the integrity of the transactions that they handle.

The criminals go to school to learn, we go to school too.

If the criminals invest in Technology , you will invest in better Technology.

Truth will always prevail over and that is our position in Interswitch.

So, we do whatever it takes to withstand whatever threat that is coming.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

7. There is one thing you will tell our viewers all over the world watching: If there is one thing you are going to tell that Young Man, that Young Woman that for you to rise to shine, this is one thing you must never forget using your Personal Story, your Personal Experience, after three (3) Years from being a Corp Member to starting up Interswitch. What will that one thing be so that he/she can rise to shine? ANSWER:
8. Stop thinking that you are a Victim of your circumstance.
9. Stop thinking the environment you are in is holding you back.

… There are too many opportunities within all of the challenges in the country.

3. Stop thinking that you need someone, you need yourself.

Start with something, Question your ideas, have the Passion, have the desire to make the world a better place.

Interswitch is only one area Payment – Let us make it Online and let it be secured.

There are problems in Housing, there is Healthcare , there is Transportation, Education – There are so many areas.

Nigerians need someone else, some other Group of people are going to take this area and make it work for Nigerians.

There are many people who hear about Interswitch and they think it is a foreign company, we tell them No. it was born, breed and nurtured in Nigeria by Nigerians.

If we can do it despite our background and the challenges we saw, you can do it also.

Let nobody tell you that where you come from or the things you don’t have can hold down – Nothing can hold you down.

WORDS OF APPRECIATIONS FROM THE MODERATOR

It has been a wonderful time.

Sir, if I say thank you is not enough – On behalf of everyone that has been listening to you, I say a very big thank you.

We appreciate your Presence.

In our Parting words, the mind that conceive Solution does not see Problem – It only see opportunities.

… Believe in yourself and there are countless opportunities out there.

Mr. Mitchelle Elegbe, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Interswitch, we are grateful and we say thank you.

We look forward to having you again on this wonderful Platform or any other Platform out there and we believe when we call, we will receive a Glowing and favourable response.

Thank you very much Sir and the Lord God bless you exceedingly in Jesus Name Amen.

Thank you sir.

To all our viewers Globally, wherever you are; we strongly believed that you have been blessed and that you have been tremendously blessed by that Teaching that you have received.

We are about to show you a very important video with regards to the SHIFT Innovation Challenge.

After which we will invite the Assistant General Overseer (A.G.O) in charge of Young Adult and Youth Affairs of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor Peter Amekheinem to Pronounce the fatherly blessing.

Please watch this video and pay attention to the details contain there in. God bless you – Amen!

Kindly watch the SHIFT Innovation video.

CLOSING REMARKS AND FINAL FATHER’S BLESSINGS BY PASTOR PETER OMA AMENKHIENEM; AGO, YOUNG ADULTS AND YOUTH AFFAIRS RCCG WORLDWIDE

First of all, I want to appreciate our Guest Speaker, Mr Michell Elegbe who gave a wonderful address at the beginning,

I got quite a number of things.

I really want to appreciate him for what he gave carefully. You know it shows me that is very deep.

I pray for him that God will give him more Grace and open for him doors of more opportunities in Jesus Name – Amen!

Let me just say this before we close that his address is timely – I mean that at this time we all need to wake up and that I see this Pandemic, this Present Crisis, the Position that the world is in right now, I see this Present Predicament as a Message to us by God.

God saying to us listen Sinai and is …. all this while I have been waiting to talk to you, needed your attention so that you can amend your ways and be living a Purposeful Life so that where you are fasting, you will start to succeed, so that where you are succeeding, you will be succeeding more and is between you and me.

I want to talk to you – You are flying out the Globe, you have a lot of things on your schedule, you wake up in the morning, you try to talk to me, when I want to answer you are already out. You have not been listening to me. Even though I needed your attention.

Now, I decided to clear your Schedule, you cant fly anymore now, you cant go to work now.

Now, there are things you used to do that you can’t do.

I have cleared all your Schedules. You have all the time now you can’t even go for Sport, you can’t watch the Premier League, La Liga, all the things that used to take your time.

You can’t even go to your Place of Worship – Some of you, you have been using it as an excuse. You rush out in the morning on Sunday, you come and I want you to know whether you are going for me or you are going for your own.

All these time you have been busy, now I have allowed something to clear your Schedules because I need your attention.

I want to talk to you and like the Speaker said, this is the Period God wants you to use so that you will never have any excuse.

He want to use this Period to open up opportunities to you because opportunities are going to come out after this Pandemic.

He wants to use this Period to groom and grow you for those of you who are Faithless so that you can have opportunity to increase your Faith, your courage. So that after this Pandemic, after this Isolation, after this Social Distancing when you get so busy again, you would acquired the necessary skills and abilities require to survive.

So, this is the Period of Incubation. This is the Period to really learn. This is the Period to be empowered.

If you go through the Scriptures, I must say you will see that God allow Isolation, Social Distancing for some people to get into another Realm and a Phase.

I just gave you an example: John the Apostle, the beloved, he was barnished to the Island of Patmos – He was in Isolation. It was there the right Perspectives of God while he was in Isolation God revealed Himself and he was never the same again.

Get a better Perspectives of life in Isolation now so that what God wants you to do, you try to understand God right now during this Pandemic.

So, I’m saying all this for you to make best use of this opportunity God has given to you.

Thank God for the theme of the SHIFT 2020 “Rise to Shine”.

I Pray for you – Everyone listening to me, everyone watching right now and reading on the Label of DMC that after the Pandemic, you would have gotten all the necessary Enablement, the Equipment, the Skill to Rise up and start shining.

I pray that, that will be your own Testimony in the Name of Jesus – Amen.

And I really want to appeal to you that everyone should take this opportunity to get what is necessary: Opportunities are coming. There are going to be Exchanges, some who were rich are going to become poor, some who are poor are going to become rich, it depends with what you will do with the opportunities that this Period is throwing up.

Thank God those who make themselves available to watch and read now on the Label of DMC.

I believe God is doing something New in our Generation and like the Speaker said, I Pray each and everyone of you, no matter the adversity people see, you will see opportunities and you will be the best for it.

As money is going to change hands, money will speak in your favour that you will use it to be doing better in life.

You will use this opportunities to move into Higher Level – That is my Prayer for you.

And I want those who are out there, who are yet to give their lives to God, who are giving God the opportunity in their lives, is an opportunity for you.

Right now, you can come to God, repent and come to Him.

After this Pandemic, move on to a New Phase.

All those who are out there, if you want to give your life to Christ, I will Pray for you, just like I am going to Pray for the Saints, Pray for the sinners.

So, if you are there listening to this opportunities, listen to what God is saying now or reading now on the Label of DMC; a New Chapter is Open – You will not be at a loss when a New Chapter is opened, a New Phase.

Please wake up (emphasis), rise to responsibilities, wake up to understanding the right Perspectives of God, the right Perspectives of life. So you will not miss out this time.

You will have no excuse after this Pandemic.

God has given each and everyone of us to learn lessons and I Pray you will learn lesson in Jesus Name – Amen.

Let me Pray for those who are watching, who want to surrender their lives: You know that the way you have been living has not been okay and you have just heard from the Speaker that there are opportunities – He rose from Grass to Riches.

You can also rise from Grass to Riches.

God can move you to Higher Level.

So, I Pray for all those who wherever you are listening or watching or reading now on the Label of DMC, that want to surrender your life to Christ – That God will accept you to the Family of God. He will write your names in the Lamb Book of Life. He will grant you an entrances to a New Phase of life and that by the opportunities, He will give you the Empowerment and the Enablement to cast into the opportunities in the Name of Jesus.

And I Pray that everyone of us will rise up out of this Pandemic: Rise to start shining in any area , facet of life.

The Spiritual Place, the Secular Place, the Market Place, in Ministry, in Church that God will give you the Enablement, the Ability, the Skill to start Shining in the Name of Jesus.

And I Pray that as we continue, we will never lose out.

God will entrench us again.

That Great Day when the Trumpet shall sound, we would not be found wanting.

Father, we thank You for the opportunities, we thank You for the Speaker again, all those who put this one together, Please give them more ideas, raise them up to be Higher than the Place they were before and let them be established in you.

Thank You Father.

I Pray for each and everyone of us as Father, that the Power of God will be upon you, upon your Establishment, upon your Future, upon everything that pertains to you in the Name of Jesus.

Thank you Father, in the Name of Jesus we Pray – AMEN!!!

God bless you, God bless me!

I enjoyed the one I was able to participate in.

God bless you, Pastor Biodun Famojuro (National Secretary, RCCG YAYA) – The Moderator.

God bless you!

RESPONSE FROM THE MODERATOR

Thank you very much sir. We are very Grateful.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ON SHIFT INNOVATION CHALLENGE ENTRY

Before we round up we want to share this information with us – Shift Innovation Challenge Entry for those who will want to be part of the Innovation Challenge, listen to the following important information. Your entry video must not exceed sixty (60) seconds.

1. Your sixty (60) seconds video should be uploaded on your Instagram and should tagged @Lagos Shift.

Please use the # tag lagosShift2020 and Lagos Shift Audition so that we are able to track your video (I recap).

2. The deadline for the submission of entry is 11:59pm on Sunday , 10th of May 2020.

May the Best Innovator win!

We like to thank everyone that has tuned in to this wonderful broadcast, till we come your way at the next Lagos Shift 2021. Go and do Exploit Victory, you are more than conqueror.

Abiodun Famojuro Signing Out – On Behalf of Lagos Shift.

God bless you and remain blessed in Jesus Name – Amen!

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