 Now, the consulting industry has undergone significant evolution since the establishment of the fourth modern consulting firms in the 19th century, with management consulting gaining an increase in momentum in the business world. In the 20th century, the consulting industry grew exponentially and expanded beyond a few founding partners and small teams to become more internationalized. Now, the African consulting industry initially focused on strategy and management has shown impressive growth, estimated at 5-7% annually within the advisory consulting market. Now, despite representing only 2.2% of the global market in 2016, the industry has become increasingly important for investors due to its sustainable impact and return on investments in the region. On the show today, we will focus on the growth of the African consulting industry, attributing it to the socioeconomic factors such as expanding the middle class, the rise of African multinational companies and improved public and private sector value propositions. Welcome to Business Insights and Plus TV Africa, I am Justin Acadone. Just before we get into the discussion proper, we start with this feature on how to write an informal proposal. Writing an informal proposal, the thought of writing a proposal overwhelms many people, but the task does not have to be doubting. Even my proposals are written when people need to ask permission to make a purchase, undertake a project or write a paper. This type of proposal is a way of persuasively putting forth an idea and asking for action to be taken on that idea. When writing a proposal, consider who will read the proposal and what that person may or may not already know about what you are proposing. So these steps when writing a proposal, one, state your proposals. Do this clearly and concisely so that the reader knows immediately why you are writing. Two, give some background information. Explain why you are proposing your suggestion so that the reader has a better understanding of the problem. Three, state a solution to the problem. This is where you give specifics about your suggestion. Four, show costs. Lay out any costs that will be involved. Five, conclusion. Wrap it up by restating the problem and the proposed solution. Welcome back to Start Business in Sighton Plus TV Africa. My guest, Ula Rwagasye, is the managing partner, founder of Mertel Management Consultants. She has over 16 years of professional experience and 10 years of experience in consulting across a spectrum of organizations, industries and economic sectors, both public and private, Nigeria and in the UK. Ula Rwagasye has led and supported several teams in management to design, develop, implement and monitor their set strategic objectives, as well as key performance indicators as well as procedures. She is passionate about the need to apply strategic thinking across all decision levels within an organization, as well as achieving a synergy between people, systems and processes. Her expertise include HR, social and management, performance management, organizational design, business process, re-engineering and digital transformation. Many thanks for joining us, Ula Rwagasye, on Business Insights. Thank you very much, Prabhami Justin. Okay, so let me just start this way out. How is the management consulting business keeping us smiling to the bank daily? Yes, definitely. It's better how you look at it, keep payers and how you position yourself. You would definitely fly smart to the bank because there's always the business. There are too many, like you said in your introduction, there's more awareness now for the need for consultants. The increase in the middle class, so people have more capability to pay, more recognition for the value that consultants bring to the table. Because now you see we have more entrepreneurs in the market. So definitely there's a need. So it depends on how you position yourself and the particular spectrum of consulting that you choose to follow. So yes. Okay, but what can you really say about the growth over time, specifically in Nigeria here? That's the management consulting business. So management consulting business, the growth has been gradual growth, but it has become quite significant in recent times in the fact that there's more recognition, there's more awareness. You know, those days people would think that to get a consultant, they would charge an arm and a leg. But now people are aware that there are different spectrums. So they don't charge an arm and a leg? They still charge an arm and a leg, but there are different spectrums. So you have the multinationals, the international consulting firms. You also have the indigenous consulting firms at different spurs. And it all depends on the industry. So you have those focusing on SMEs, MSMEs, of course, and you have those focusing on the multinationals and the mid-sized corporate businesses. So definitely if you're looking for a consultant to solve any problem for you, you can find a consultant at each of those points that still has the expertise level and experience to solve whatever problem that the business is trying to solve. Okay, I'm interested in finding out how you dived into this line of business. Was it something that you've always wanted to do? Can you share your story with us? Okay, my story is very interesting and I remember it happening when I was 30 years old, years ago. So I was one of my mentors and let me start the fact that I worked with the bank abroad. I started my career in the banking and then in one of the projects I had, one of the banks I worked with, I had to deal with external consultants. So that exposure, that experience got me interested in what consultants do because mostly it's about identifying problems and trying to solve those problems. And innately also I would say I have the knack of being like a misfixit. I've always been the kind of person that people go to with whatever problems and I just try to solve it. So that innate and my professional experience and background and the interest I picked in that project now got me interested in it. But the transition came when I sat down one of my mentors and he said, but you know you should do this because you're good at it. Because I was doing it as a banker, helping the businesses I worked with to solve problems, going above and beyond, just managing their funds you get. And he said, you're good at it, so why don't you explore it? And I said, that's interesting. And then he put a word to it by being the first client I had, he gave me the first brief, he referred me to people and then he just caught fire like that. Very interesting. OK, so let me just put it that way for those who are watching and might just be wondering why or if they really do need the services of a management consultant, how important would you say is the role of a management consultant to an average from being a small business? Being a big business, being a small business, management consultants are very important and there are different spectrums. So you have IT consulting, you have marketing and PR consulting, you have operations consulting, you have strategy consulting. That's a whole lot. There's a whole lot, so you have HR consulting. Of course, you have the oldest in the game, which is financial consulting because they've been there, they are the ones that everybody already knew that you need a financial consultant to help you. And even with the rise of the tax law and all of that, the new tax laws, it's not even important to have them advise you and guide you so you don't make any mistakes. You have even now become very popular wellness and health care consultants. So at different spectrums, at one point of any business, definitely, especially as you aspire to grow. And one of the opportunities, the market, the horizon is becoming bigger every day. Technology is playing a role. And so many companies don't even understand how technology is transforming, even if it's going to transform their business, or it is already transforming their business. So at these different spectrums that I mentioned, a management consultant will guide you, they will provide strategic insight, they will provide expert advice. If you're experiencing a problem, I always tell people before you go into the venture, actually go in with a consultant because actually, when he's a good one anyway, because they're able to guide you, they would open your eyes to horizons that you didn't see. They would help you to set up a structure, a system and put in place because they are used to working with different organizations. So naturally, they've come across several best practices. So before you even jump in, you work with a consultant and then minimize the problems, the challenges you will see along the way one, the issues you will face along the way two, the mistakes you generally would have made three and then save you money because if you go through that whole route, making mistakes, and learning from them, and many times they inspire you because they've seen these challenges already. So most times the business entrepreneurs will be like, ah, I want to give up, I'm so tired, I'm so stressed. They will give you a sense of direction, they will inspire you and say, okay, this is how you're going to solve this particular problem. So it makes doing business easier than it would have without a consultant. So I was going to ask the opportunities available in the sector, but you have actually broken down the spectrum. We talked about HR consultant, IT, even the wellness and fitness. Okay, but the question right now would be if it is an all commerce affairs or if it's something you could just dive into, because before now we used to hear of the Kimberley Ryan of this world, the PWCs and the Deloitte, but right now we have small consultants coming up by there and actually taking care of people with tailored needs and never tailored needs rather. So what do you really need to be a consultant? Because I'm sure it's not just everyone that can be a management consultant. Yes, not everyone can be a management consultant because one of it is the fact that you have to be agile. You have to be flexible. And I mean, as much as you have the interest, the passion to solve problems, you need to be extremely knowledgeable. So learning is a breathing process for you as a consultant. You will never stop learning and you must always be ahead of the game. So read very cautiously, you know. You must read very cautiously. You must read, you know, scholarly articles but university and those written by others not in the university space. You must be a researcher because in that researching, and you need to know where to find the information that you need in the first place, then of course you need to be flexible because you're not going to have the same type of clients every time. So you need to not deal with different type of people. So you know, when people say I'm a people person, I'm a people person. If you're a consultant, you must be a people person because you will deal with all manner of personalities. So you need to be able to manage them, think ahead of them because they will arrive at the problem. So before they arrive at the problem, the consultant is the kind of person that has to think of what's going to happen if this happens. You must be somebody who is a risk person. So understand risk and management very well because every single activity has a risk. Don't ever take it for granted that, you know. And then of course very importantly, you'll be proactive. You must be proactive to survive as a management consultant. All right. There is still business insights on plus TV Africa. We're looking at the business of a management consultant and my guest Ola Iwagwaze is still with me. I will take a quick break and that business insight returns in a moment to join us again. All right, welcome back. It's still business insight and plus TV Africa. I still have Ola Iwagwaze with me and we're looking at a business consultancy in the country and Africa and Latin. How far the sector has grown or is growing? Thanks for staying with me. Thank you very much. Okay. From what I read that industry growth rate in Africa between 2021 and 2026 is forecast to be 7.84% which is reflected in the growth of the market growth in Nigeria, but how can you explain or how can you or management consultant help clients tackle complex challenges and achieve lasting results? For instance, you talked about having foresight and seeing problems even before they are co-op but some people they might have like very complex challenges and they don't even know where to start. For instance, let me just paint a scenario. They have issues with managing human resources and they're also thinking of digitizing their processes. So how would you be able as a management consultant to just wait in and know just how to turn around the fortunes and the processes of the company when they have various challenges? Yes, thank you very much for that. So first thing to do always when you go into any consultant venture is to have a diagnostics of the organization. Do you guys play doctors as well? Yes. So there are certain questions you would ask which are organized set of questions. If it's for HR problems, there are business diagnostics questions that you can ask. And then the response to these questions would help you identify the most salient issues and give you a project plan as well which is most important for you to start with. And of course, they would need to have a goal. You can help them to define their strategic goal in terms of where they're headed to at a particular time so that whichever problems you identify in line with the goals that they have, you can then come up with a plan, an action plan for this is where you are as in our sees and this is where you want to be. So for us to go from here to here, based on the issues we've seen on ground, based on where you want to go to with your strategic plan, these are the things that we need to do. These are the things that we need to implement because those things will bring out issues like are there policies in place? Are there procedures in place? People have they been trained? Do they have the right skills? Is there a skills gap? Is there a manpower gap? Is there a leadership problem? What are the cultures in place? Because all of those key things, when identified and resolved, can help them then achieve whatever goal that they have. And this can always be a different spectrum for any organization. They will never be the same. And that's the most interesting thing about the job. So there's no one-size-fits? There's no one, no. You can't do a one-size-fits approach for, you know, you can't. But they are defined processes as a management consultant to follow with expertise that you can deploy for whichever organization. Okay, you've been around the business for a very long time. For my intro, about 16 years of experience and beyond. So I'm sure the sector has its own share of challenges and threats just like we have in other sectors. Can you share some of them with us? Or maybe while your experiences are while working, maybe with some clients and how you were able to overcome those threats and challenges. Okay, so I'll go from generic to specific. So generic is the fact that every management consulting is a rising competition. We can't sleep on it because sleeping on it means that there's a new consultant coming out to take that business. Because for example, if the likes, the big boys knew that the indigenous firms would rise up like this. I'm sure they would have done more. So you always have rising competition. And then within the rising competition is the fact that you would have to even compete within yourself in the fact that you must be technologically compliant and aware and keep upgrading yourself, your skills, your experiences. So we find as a challenge that if you're a consultant and you don't, you're not aware of competition, then you wouldn't thrive. Secondly, you must be aware and imbibe technology. And the fact that most consultants still think that it is something far away because I still see some people, for example, recruiters having a consulting firm at Gmail. They're not using things like automated processes for their recruitment. So many consultants within the system, so I said generic, are not aware of automation technology that is involved in upskilling and upgrading their businesses. So if they don't become aware of that, they'll definitely go away. But generally, again, the other problems you have are the fact that most times, the scope will always change. It's a major problem. Scopes will always change. Decline to tell you, this is what I want and this is how I want it. And then along the way, things start flying left and right. So as a consultant, you must know how to have the discipline and be able to discipline the clients to stay within the scope. You can also discipline the clients. You have to discipline the clients to stay within the scope. Well, they're even pulling the money. So they have to wear the facts. If not, everything goes everywhere and then you never have a defined result at the end. Then there's an issue. Then of course, like every business in Nigeria, most businesses in Nigeria, you face the fact that, and it's because not really, of course they might be the integrity issues every business person will face. Because even the retail business faces integrity of the customer paying for the good that they have bought, right? So it's the same thing with consulting space. You might face people that don't have the integrity to pay for services that they've rendered. And they just expect you to part all these nice ideas in your head and then move along with it. Okay, so let me just try and squeeze something out of you. Any specifics you want to share? Yes, while working on client and that's where it may be a bit difficult and how are you able to so mount it? There are so many, so many, so many, so many. Let me not bug you with that. But let's talk about them, the prospect and the future of a management consultant. How do you see the business in the next, in the short term, mid-term and maybe long-term? They've been fine from five to 10 years. You see, the business is thriving and there are so many opportunities, especially with things like the African, the AFTA, the African free trade agreement. That means that we, as the businesses are also going beyond borders. Consultants are also going to go beyond borders. Position yourself, yes. Position yourself to go beyond borders. Every organization needs a consultant at one point or the other. And you find that most times the small businesses, the small consultants, find it difficult to get into the big companies and the opportunities are there, but you need to be documented, heavily documented, so with your regulatory compliance and everything. So the opportunities there... So the business is also regulated? Yes. Oh, tell me about it. You have the intelligence, the management, instead of management consultants and several other bodies that regulate. Of course, you have the, there are different hierarchies of regulation. Different levels, yeah. Yeah, different levels, but yes, it's highly regulated. For example, if you're a recruiter, you need to have a recruiter's license. You can't just recruit. And then you get it from Ministry of Labor. So it's, yeah, at different levels, they are... Different types of regulations. Yes, if you're an IT consultant, you need to work with the IT agency of the government. So they are all regulated at different levels, yes. Finally, let's talk about automation, the IT tech and everything. How has it been able to evolve the way a business consultant is done in Nigeria? And how has it also improved the processes or the processes involved in management consulting? So, yes, just like I was about to say, automation and self-business is a lot. So recruitment, for example, can be seamless. Tax management is also seamless. So you have different tax management tools. You have different project management tools. There are different products that we don't start mentioning. Just type project management tools on the internet. You have different ones. That has helped consulting firms to be more effective and be more organized. And the fact that you can actually work with different teams, both Nigeria and outside Nigeria, or within Nigeria or outside Africa, and that's another opportunity because automation comes the fact that your service can now be exported and that's the future of consulting in Nigeria. We have the opportunity to actually now start exporting our services also. All right, so I said we're running out but just one final question. I just want you to help maybe a struggling business consultant because I've heard stories of some consultant saying they're trying to stay above our debt and their clients not paying and they're even thinking of maybe some sort of different direction. What would you say to someone now who is a consultant and over time he has been struggling? Okay, the struggles are various, right? But just hanging on what you said in terms of the fact that maybe clients are not paying or they're not getting enough briefs. One of them would be the fact that they should use digital marketing and be found. There's the Google business. So be found. Invest also in marketing your consulting business. Be knowledgeable because there's no point marketing the business and then you show up and then you don't have any knowledge about what you're trying to deal with. I usually tell people, and I did it also, if it means you going into an experienced consulting firm and working as an intern, you can go in there. That would give you a wealth of experience. So the internship is actually encouraged. The internship is encouraged, yes, and it's good for you. And then as much as possible, try to get retainer in your relationships and then have different plans for different businesses. Come up with a service plan. I offer this service, but I have different categories for it. Therefore, you can find different people at different niches to buy your service. Thank you so much, O'Larry, for all of the useful and wonderful insight that you have brought on the show today. We do appreciate it. Thank you very much, Justin. My pleasure. My guest has been O'Larry Walgers, your managing partner, founder, metal management consultants. As we go on the show today, there is an urgent need to incentivize medical practitioners in the country to reduce the brain-drain challenge and by extension tackle medical tourism. This was a consensus by speakers at an event which seeks to impact lives through access to affordable healthcare. I'll leave you with details of that report. I am Justin Akadoni. I'll see you again next time. Bye for now. The association says the country is now battling with its worst situation of brain-drain as the fewer than 10,000 Nigerian train doctors are currently practicing in the United Kingdom. To utter this dilemma, Nigerians seem to have a trust issue with getting medical services in the country. At this gathering, the focus is to provide an avenue for Nigerians to get world-class healthcare at affordable costs. So that when we talk about the standard of healthcare in Lagos, we're talking about access to all spectra of the society, from low to middle to higher socioeconomic groups. And that we have put in place these kinds of standards where we are talking about one standard of care. Today's prevailing economic climate, both in Nigeria and abroad, the idea that individuals can simply jet off abroad is becoming an increasingly unrealistic prospect. Never mind the millions of the 200 million Nigerians who never had that option in the first place. So all of that, plus what happened over COVID, has forced us to look inwards. And that's where the story of reversing medical tourism begin. Many Nigerians have lost confidence in the country's health system because of the poor service delivery. Some, however, believe the challenge can be solved from top-bottom. The vice-president, Professor Yemio Shibajo, may have walked in that direction. However, the Lagos State Government says it is imperative to have a strategic initiative to make the city a medical tourism hub. We need to begin to think very carefully, very creatively, about how we ensure that we incentivize doctors, healthcare professionals to stay in this country and to return to this country. We need to begin to think also about how we use our allied healthcare professionals. And so our job in Lagos is to make sure that there's a standard of care across both private and public and that when people talk about healthcare delivery in Lagos, that they speak with confidence, you know, that if I receive my treatment in Lagos, I know I'm going to get international best practices in that particular discipline. Interestingly, apart from lack of equipment and technical expertise, poor sanitation and disrespectful latitude of health workers and a perceived lack of confidentiality have been the sad narrative. This, regardless, experts are confident that the tide is changing.