The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of VFD Group Plc, Mr Nonso Okpala, has urged young Nigerians to embrace innovation, entrepreneurship and emerging digital opportunities as pathways to sustainable wealth creation, while stressing the growing importance of attention capital in today’s economy.
Okpala made the call at the 2026 Pre-Conference Symposium of the Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Management Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, themed “From Vision to Legacy: Inspiring Africa’s Next Generation of Responsible Business Owners,” held at the UNIZIK Business School.
He said the modern economy is being shaped not only by financial and digital capital, but also by individuals’ and businesses’ ability to capture and convert public attention into value.
“One thing that has become quite relevant is your ability to capture people’s attention and move that attention into a business model. That is what I call attention capital,” he said.
According to him, young entrepreneurs must position themselves to capitalise on Nigeria’s large and growing population, technological innovation, and expanding retail opportunities.
He noted that the country’s population presents a significant market for those who can successfully identify needs and build scalable solutions, adding that even small products can become major businesses when distributed at scale.
Okpala also highlighted the role of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, in accelerating innovation and reducing the time required to build products and services.
He further stressed the importance of capital markets in transforming small enterprises into large, institutionalised businesses, warning that many successful ventures fail due to weak structures and lack of institutional continuity.
Drawing from his experience at VFD Group, he said the company grew through consistent execution, strong team building, and the ability to scale tested business models over time.
The VFD Group chief also encouraged students and young entrepreneurs to focus on building ideas, developing strong teams, and maintaining a verifiable track record of performance that can attract future investment.
He added that wealth creation must ultimately translate into social impact, particularly in education, infrastructure and community development.
The symposium brought together academics, students and industry stakeholders to discuss entrepreneurship, sustainable business leadership and economic transformation in Africa.
