Top 5 Companies Making Waves in Bayelsa, Nigeria.

Doing business in Bayelsa State has been very hectic for entrepreneurs and business owners. Governor Duoye Diri, the Executive Governor of the state with a population of over 2million people, described Bayelsa as the “most backward” state in Nigeria (Independence; ISUU). Challenges of the small state, located in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria include insecurity, low-class infrastructure, power, bad roads and declining economic policies. However, In spite of these challenges, some companies and businesses in the state have been thriving. But how? We have carefully selected top 5 businesses making waves in Bayelsa, using the Fortune Future 50 modalities.

What is the fortune future 50 modalities?

Fortune future-50 formula is an assessment system that analyzes dozens of factors to identify companies with the strongest long-term growth potential. 50 companies are selected and judged, based on analysis from good business checklists. Some of these checklists include:

• Cash-flow Generation:  Cash-flow is the flow of money coming into and going out of a business that ultimately determines whether or not a business meets its working capital requirements. For a positive cash-flow, money coming into a company plus accounts receivable must be greater than the money going out plus accounts payable.
• Vitality: This refers to the capacity of a business to re-invent itself and sustain growth.
• Technology Driven: In a technologically driven world, mechanisms and e-tools must be constantly used in order to improve product quality and customer satisfaction.
• Top-down assessment: Company’s potential.
• Bottom-up assessment: Strategy, Technology, Investments, people and structure.

In view of the Fortune Future 50 modalities, we present

the top 5 companies making waves in Bayelsa state.

1. Azikel Group: Azikel Group is a multi-million dollar conglomerate, with interest in sand dredging, aviation, agriculture and energy. Azikel Group has its headquarters in Bayelsa state, Nigeria. It is owned by Eruani Azibapu and has employee capacity of over 700 people. According to Forbes, the annual revenue of the company is over $800million. The business started in 2008. The company is centred around sustainable development, industrialization, infrastructural developments with energy sustainability and petroleum products. Azikel affiliate companies include –

a. Azikel Dredging: with Bayelsa state literally below sea level, Sand is an indispensable material needed for land-reclamation and construction. This, therefore, provides an enormous market for the company.

b. Azikel Air:  With an air transport license and air operating certificate for full operation, Azikel air offers transportation to individuals who intend to travel within and outside Nigeria.

c. Azikel Power:  The Company is licensed for the On-grid power generation of 500MW.

d. Azikel Petroleum: Azikel now has its refinery in the Bayelsa, producing quality variants of LPG, Kerosene,  diesel and heavy fuel and this is highly valuable to the Nigerian crude oil.

2. Tonyve Farms and e-poultry Farms:

Agriculture remains the second largest sector in the Bayelsa economy following the oil boom in the state. Production of food and meat has still not kept pace with the growing population of the state. There is a vast agricultural potential, yet untapped in Bayelsa State and the Tonyve Farms is fully tapping into the opportunity. Tonyve Farms was founded in 2014 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa. They produce chicken eggs, meats, manure. They also offer agro-entrepreneurship training. Tonyve Farms is committed to enhancing food security, wealth creation and employment generation through the production of hygienic and quality farm produce. The company is owned by Anthony Owei. This company has also embraced digital technology by venturing into an online platform, ePoultry.NG, aimed at providing funding, technical skills and access to the market for small start-ups and poultry farmers.

3. Market square, Yenagoa:

Market square is Nigeria’s emerging grocery retail chain with trusted brands of groceries at the best prices. There is a massive opportunity for market square because they sell basic needs of masses; packed foods, fresh bakes, fresh produce, groceries, wines, toiletries, baby products and small domestic appliances. The First Marketsquare opened in Yenagoa in 2015 and has expanded to over 6 branches in Portharcourt and Benin, despite economic challenges in the state. The Company and its industries keep up to date with trends in the world; from their buildings and constructions to their technological systems i.e. just the same with what you find in developed countries.

4. Cloudsa Systems services:

With the emergence of global digital technology, there is a huge market space for businesses and developers. Cloudsa Systems Ltd is an ISO Certified, recognized and legally registered software Development, IT Project management and IT Consultancy company in Nigeria. The head office is located in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. They provide total and cost-effective IT solutions including website design and development services, small to enterprise-scale software development and engineering, mobile application development, digital marketing, networking, security, content delivery network, search engine optimizations and many other related IT solutions. The Company started in May, 2014.

5. IMA Digital Marketing Studios:

This Company is a leading full digital-service agency for global influencer marketing which offers web designs, SEO, Google Adwords, to local businesses all over Nigeria. In this age, where all businesses and brands require attention online, scaling as much as possible to put your business on the Google front page has become so expedient. IMA Digital Marketing also manages social campaigns from A-Z. They have over 10-years connection with other influencers all over the world.

Are you an Investor, Entrepreneur or an Employee? These are the top 5 companies making waves in Bayelsa State. Bayelsa state government has said it will support entrepreneurs and viable businesses for growth and development opportunities in the state; therefore, it is necessary that more entrepreneurs spring up in the state in order to bring about development and curb social vices. Bayelsa is a state predominantly occupied with civil servants, with little presence of multi-national companies exploring and exploiting oil. There is a huge potential for business people and investors in the state. Those who invest now will no doubt invest at a discount as against investing at a premium in later years to come.