Behind every successful business is a workforce, but finding and keeping the right people remains a major challenge. Ifeanyi E. Nsofor, founder of Eden Solutions and Resources Limited, saw that challenge as an opportunity and is helping businesses tackle one of their most critical challenges: finding the right people, building effective teams, and expanding their reach.
In an interview with The News Chronicle, Nsofor reflected on the company’s journey, its growth milestones, the challenges confronting businesses in Nigeria, entrepreneurship and the role of private-sector employers in tackling unemployment.
TNC: We understand that building and sustaining a successful business is no easy feat. Could you kindly tell us about yourself and your company? What does your business do? What inspired you to venture into this line of business? How has the journey been so far?
My name is Ifeanyi E. Nsofor the founder of Eden Solutions and Resources Limited founded in 2002 as a domestic staffing agency before gradually evolving into an organizational consulting firm. The company’s transition followed the observation that many businesses struggled due to lack of basic organizational structures such as proper job descriptions, staff handbooks and clearly defined workflows which were the things I faced in the early years of the organization. This gaps often contributed to high staff turnover and poor organizational performance. Eden Solutions and Resources reflects the company’s philosophy, with “Solutions” representing the structures and frameworks businesses needed, and “Resources” representing the people required to drive those structures, we furnish organizations with the right workforce.
TNC: What keeps you motivated and focused despite the inevitable challenges entrepreneurs face? What are the unique challenges in your industry, and what have been some of your most memorable achievements?
Several milestones have defined the company’s journey between 2016 and 2017, we alongside Jobberman and other organizations partnered on a World Bank/Federal Government grant programme, that staff more than 40 businesses in Nigeria within two years. We also recruited 102 employees for a single organization within a record period.
Another defining achievement involved helping a struggling Abuja school restructure its operations. Following the intervention, the school’s student population increased from about 250 to more than 900 and they returned to engage the company again in January this year for staffing.
I identified staff retention and rising salary expectations as some of the biggest challenges currently facing businesses. Economic pressures significantly increased salary demands, with workers who previously earned about N50, 000 monthly now seeking between N150, 000 and N200, 000, and many businesses have not increased their revenues at the same pace. We constantly search for people who can fit into existing organizational structures while helping clients manage the realities of high employee turnover.
TNC: Have you benefited from any government initiatives or incentives aimed at supporting businesses? How do you raise funds to sustain and expand your business?
I did not begin the company with loans or external funding or government grants. The company’s starting capital was “idea capital”, I relied on the strength of my idea and gradually built the business from the proceeds of its operations.
The company’s first client was an artist and furniture seller who was juggling between selling and arts and making furniture. I advised this person to choose one craft and focus more strongly on it. He took my advised and focused on his art business and within a short time the business grew. This client offered me a table in his office, just a little corner and that became Eden Solutions’ first business premises. The company later moved from that borrowed desk, after paying the next years rent, to a two-bedroom apartment that served as both my home and office before eventually securing a dedicated office in Garki, Abuja, where we operated for about 15 years.
TNC: Please walk us through a typical day in your life as a business owner. What does your daily routine look like?
Running a business requires a consistent leadership rhythm and constant attention to operations. At 6am, I start monitoring the company’s activities, engaging clients, supervising staff and responding to emerging challenges. Business owners must constantly balance the demands of clients, employees and the wider market. Despite the pressures, the most satisfying aspect of my job remains seeing businesses and people grow as a result of the company’s intervention.
TNC: How would you describe your journey to success? What distinguishes you and your business from others in the industry?
I would say persistence, continuous learning and the ability to identify problems that businesses face and provide practical solutions. Eden Solutions differentiates itself by combining organizational structures with the right human resources. Rather than simply supplying workers, we seek to understand the structure of an organization, identify gaps and place people who are fit for the positions and can contribute to the growth of the organization.
TNC: Do you believe entrepreneurship is for everyone? What advice would you give aspiring entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Business requires grit, resilience and unwavering self-belief. Entrepreneurs must be prepared to operate under intense pressure, often dealing simultaneously with clients, employees, financial constraints and a difficult economy. Entrepreneurs must remain committed even when their bank accounts, the economy and other circumstances appear to work against them.
TNC: Economic hardship has become one of Nigeria’s most pressing challenges. How can your line of business help ease these challenges and support Nigeria’s economic recovery?
Private-sector businesses, including human resources firms, have an important role to play in addressing Nigeria’s unemployment challenge. The government alone cannot solve economic hardships or create enough jobs to absorb the country’s growing workforce. HR firms can serve as catalysts for economic growth by helping businesses find the right employees, improve their operations and expand. Eden Solutions places the right people in organizations and when those businesses grow, their growth creates additional employment opportunities. The more businesses grow, the more people they can employ thereby reducing unemployment.
My final thought is that professionals and entrepreneurs must learn to embrace artificial intelligence. The use of tools such as ChatGPT, can support activities including scheduling, economic analysis and business planning. Anyone that wants to grow in their career or their business must adopt AI because the future of entrepreneurship will belong to people and businesses that can combine resilience and human expertise with technology to solve problems more efficiently.
