Martin Zubby Okorowu Is a very young talented Entrepreneur, he speaks to Elora’s Blog in this interview.

Please tell us about your background?

I’m Martin Okorowu, a Chemical Engineering student of the Federal University of Technology Owerri. I am from Oguta LGA in Imo State. I’m 20.
You’re an Entrepreneur, what’s your line of business?

I’m a serial entrepreneur, I am the Founder of Ikazon Group of Companies. Ikazon is basically into Agriculture and Pest control.

We also have our Media outfit where we Develope and Manage content, Photography, Satire, Graphics and Video editing.

What inspired you to start up your business?

The Pest Control outfit was out of the desire to protect crops and livestock and to tackle environmental health challenges.

How were you able to raise fund for your business?

I can’t really say I had to raise funds to begin pest control business, I just had to lay my hands on a knapsack sprayer that has been useless in my house for quite some years and started to use it to terminate some vegetable pests in my small garden. That way I had to discover that I could offer the same services to people and get paid for it. In this business all you need to get is the knowledge, get properly trained and then secure sprayers and chemicals.
What are the challenges you faced while operating your business?

Lack of awareness – Most people don’t even know what Pest control and Fumigation entails, and some others who do think it’s quite expensive and is only meant for big men.

People do not know that they are supposed to fumigate their houses and factories every 3 months to get rid of all kinds of Pests and reptiles. That is how the South Americans do it to get rid of Mosquitoes and never suffer from Malaria.

The Government, through the Ministry of Health and Agriculture should be able to raise awareness of fumigation and Pest control and also train people on it to ensure healthy living and food security.

How do you advertise your business?

Basically, this is where I am seriously lacking behind.

I use my Facebook timeline and I also have a page to sometimes talk about pest control but I think I haven’t developed the right strategy to reach my target audience or to convince people to patronize my business.

It will involves a lot of money to run a strategic advertising for this business and currently I lack such resources, that is why I seek for investors or supporters and partners.

Has it been financially rewarding?

Yes. It’s very profitable as long as clients come your way regularly. To fumigate a building, say a duplex, in and out is nothing short of N50 000. Just imagine, you get jobs like 4, 5, 6 times within a month, it becomes a good jump off point to growing an empire in pest control. One could get as far as developing his own brand of insecticide, hire people, set up an office, consult and run researches on pest management.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

With hard work and God, in the next five years I see myself running a full blown fumigation firm that will conquer Imo State and become one of the leading pest management companies in the South East and Niger Delta.