Alhaja Adenola Bintu Amusat is the Chief
Executive Officer of Bintol Enterprises, a
business venture that has spanned almost
two decades transiting from sales of
fabrics to distributorship of confectionery
products such as sausages. In this
interview, she tells Olamide Bakare her
experience, foray into sales
distributorship of confectioneries as well
as the contending challenges confronting
the business.
More often than not, those who are in
one gainful employment or the other are
regularly confronted with the dilemma
of life after retirement. In most cases,
they end up doing nothing when the
retirement period eventually beckons.
But for Alhaja Amusat that was not the
case. At the time when she was about
retiring in the workforce, she had her
plan cut out. Having seen the challenges
confronting retirees, she knew it was not
going to be a bed of roses as she set out
to establish a business of her own.
Speaking on the journey into
confectioneries business, Binta says it
has been a road filled with mixed
blessing
She says” I deal with snacks of various
kinds. I have been in this business for
over 15 years now. I retired 17 years ago
as a banker working with Union Bank
Plc.
Before now, I was trading in fabrics.
That was what I was doing immediately
after I retired as a banker. I was
engaged in the trade for a number of
years before I realized that things were
not going well with the business. When I
realised that there was a fall in demand
for lace materials which were mostly in
vogue at that period, I decided to
diversify which led me to venture into
confectioneries. Since then, I have not
looked back. I I noticed that there was
great demand on consumables and I
thought confectioneries was the best
option. At the moment, I have
abandoned the fabric business ,focusing
my attention on confectioneries. I don’t
know if things turn out for the better, I
may have toreturn back to the business
once again.”
No doubt, the business must have had its
fair share of challenges, Bintu says,
aside the problem of power supply and
economic problem in the country, all
other issues hardly affect the business.
She said” I think the major challenging
affecting the business is not peculiar to
us but also takes its toll on most business.
This challenge is no other than power.
As you can see, the Ogba environ has
been in total darkness for the past three
days. We are no longer hopeful because
it has become the norm not only in this
area but Nigeria generality. I am sure
you would be wondering how does
power supply affect the business?. You
know that if there is no electricity,
chilled beverage drinks needed to enjoy
the snacks won’t be available. Once the
customer realised the drinks are not
cold, they abandon the snacks.
Sometimes, they resort to other options.
So, my advice is that as the new
government takes off, power supply
should be its utmost priority. Unless that
is done, I don’t see us going anywhere. I
believe if they can solve the problem of
electricity, more than 60% of the
problems confronting Nigeria would
have been solved. If there is electricity,
all artisans would be fully engaged. If
you notice in recent times that a lot of
businesses have been closing down due
to power outage. So, I am imploring the
incoming administration to also ensure
that corruption is wiped off. Take for
instance, the power situation we are
referring to have remained unsolved not
because money were not accrued but as
a result of corruption or mismanagement
of funds accrued to NEPA.
One other challenge hampering the
growth of this business is multiple
taxation. As we speak, we pay taxes on
all sort of things. I understand that
businesses are supposed to pay tax but
what we go through in the hands of
government is constituting a serious
drain on the business. As we speak, we
pay tax on virtually everything ranging
from television, land use, sign board to
trade permits. These are some of the
policies biting hard on small businesses
generally”.
Asked for the amount of funds invested
into the business, Bintu disclosed that
her retirement benefit was all that she
needed to set the business running
She notes” I invested a rough estimate of
N2million .I actually got the slush fund
through my retirement benefits and
other savings. This was immediately
after retiring as an accountant in the
bank. The whole fund was purely
invested in the fabric business .It was
later on that I veered into other areas
when the business was no longer
forthcoming .I am a distributor to
virtually all the retailers in this environ.
We have about 40 items of snacks that
we supply. I am grateful for the success
recorded so far. We have a whole lot
some of which include cookies, banana,
plaintain, sweet potato, cheeseball. I am
the first to engage in wholesale of
confectioneries product in this area.
Business itself is about risk. You win
some, and lose some.”
However, if there is anything that has
proved helpful in the last 15 years, Bintu
says her experience as a banker has
been quite handy in solving issues
relating to customers.
She says” I have had experience handful
of about credit while working as a
banker. That explains why I have not
had issue with my customers.”
Asked if she had encountered any
problem with any of the companies,
Bintu singled out Chi Limited saying
plans are at advanced stage to engage a
lawyer to take legal action against the
company for a breach of business
agreement.
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