Prominent Nigerians, including Pastor Taiwo Odukoya of Fountain of Life Church and seasoned broadcaster, Adesuwa Onyenokwe, rose to celebrate with the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dugo Limited, Mrs. Ngozi Nzegwu, last Saturday, when the brand promotion items company moved to its new office in Ikeja, Lagos.
While several guests saluted Nzegwu, especially for her entrepreneurial culture, Odukoya commended her for being able to build her activities on what he described as godly principles.
Odukoya said, “Once the fear of God is there, there will be freedom and progress. Everything is about the law of giving and receiving. What you want, find a way to give it to someone else. It is important to be honest in one’s dealings. God gave us all choices, but if you follow God’s instructions, you will be blessed.”
Odukoya added that no matter how small one starts a business, once it is run on God’s principles, it would thrive.
“I am from an indigent background. But what we are today is not what we were before. If you can’t find God in small things you won’t find Him in big ones,” he said.
Nzegwu, a banker-turned-entrepreneur, who is also the President of the Promotional Items Association of Nigeria, said the sub-sector was becoming more popular because it was dynamic and relatively cost-effective.
She said, “Brand awareness is the most common use for promotional items. Marketers also use them to facilitate employee relations and events, tradeshow, traffic-building, public relations, new customer generation, dealer and distributor programmes, new product introductions, employee service awards, not-for-profit programmes, internal incentive programmes, safety education, customer referrals, and marketing research.”
She added that, worldwide, the use of promotional items was being embraced by governmental and non-governmental institutions.
“Promotional items are also used in politics to promote candidates and causes. They are a tool for non-commercial organisations, such as schools and charities are often used as a part of fund raising and awareness-raising campaigns,” she said.
Nzegwu explained that Dugo had come a long way, despite challenges posed by other competing forms of advertising and promotion, as well as the harsh operating environment in the country.
“We have come a long way. We are still evolving. It has not been easy but our vision is keeping us focused. We know there is reward for diligence. I believe in the principle of delayed gratification and the need to always plough back,” she added.
A member of the Award and Recognition Association of America, the Promotional Products Association International and Women In Business, Nzegwu holds a B.Sc in Sociology and MBA (finance) from the University of Lagos.