10th Anniversary Of International Breweries Limited Foundation’s Kickstart Programme

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KEYNOTE REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, IMMEDIATE PAST VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, TITLED: “CHARACTER FIRST”, AT THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES LIMITED FOUNDATION’S KICKSTART PROGRAMME ON THE 17^TH OF NOVEMBER, 2025

Protocols

Let me begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to International Breweries Limited Foundation for the kind invitation and for the honour of delivering these keynote remarks at this landmark 10th Anniversary of the Kickstart Initiative. The Foundation deserves great commendation.

For a full decade, you have invested in Nigeria’s entrepreneurial future by providing early-stage funding and support to businesses founded by young people under 35. This work is not just admirable — it is essential. Our population grows by nearly six million people every year, and we have possibly the youngest workforce in the world. These bright young men and women must be given opportunities to create value, build businesses, and generate jobs. This vibrant youth population holds the potential for a massive development dividend, and this is precisely why Kickstart is so crucial. Well done indeed.

As I thought about what to say to the exceptional young entrepreneurs gathered here today, I decided to speak from experience — less theory, more truth. I have titled my remarks: Character First. In the world of start-ups, we celebrate talent, glorify speed, and chase capital. Yet experience has taught me something simple and profound: talent may open the door, money may give you momentum, but character will either throw you out of the room or keep you in it.

Your business will grow only as fast and as sustainably as the character of the person building it. In the long run, character is a make-or-break economic factor.

So today, I will speak about the qualities that matter far more than brilliance — qualities that have shaped every great company you admire.

Character is the inner strength behind discipline, decisions, and destiny. It is integrity, hard work, perseverance, honesty, humility, patience, and responsibility — especially when no one is watching. Character is what remains when talent is tested, money is scarce, and circumstances are difficult. It is the foundation of trust, the compass of consistency, and the invisible architecture that supports every visible achievement.

In simple terms, character is who you are when pressure comes, when opportunities arise, and when shortcuts appear. Let us examine the key components of character that determine long-term success:

1. Perseverance — The Founder’s First Fuel

Every new business is a test of resilience. There will be setbacks, dry seasons, rejection letters, and moments when you quietly ask yourself, “Did I make the right decision starting this business?” The real challenge is not dreaming; many people have dreams and visions. The real challenge is staying power — the ability to see a matter through. The hardest courage is not the courage to start; it is the courage to remain. It is not the courage to dream; it is the courage to face nightmares and still continue until you achieve and sustain your goal, in one word: resilience.

Let me illustrate with a real example familiar to many of you. The ThriveAgric Crisis: When Character Became Strategy

ThriveAgric was one of Nigeria’s most celebrated Agritech startups. But in 2020, COVID-19 disrupted their entire value chain. They could not access farms; off-takers delayed payments; produce got stuck in transit; and revenues plummeted. As a result, ThriveAgric could not meet its payout timelines to thousands of retail investors. An operational shock quickly became a reputational crisis. Investors complained publicly; hashtags trended; confidence collapsed.

The startup praised for innovation suddenly became a cautionary tale about speed without systems. But here is why the story matters: ThriveAgric did not hide. They confronted the crisis with humility. They apologised publicly, acknowledged the problem, and committed to clearing every outstanding obligation. Then they rebuilt: strengthened governance, overhauled processes, abandoned their risky retail crowdfunding model, improved risk management, secured institutional financing, stabilised their value chain, and reinforced their technology backbone.

They chose integrity over excuses and process over speed, and they recovered. Within two years, they cleared their obligations, restored credibility, secured new investment, including a $56 million facility and expanded into Ghana and Kenya.

That is character, not perfection, but the courage to face failure honestly, rebuild diligently, and emerge stronger. In business, especially startups, failure is not final; it is simply a test of perseverance, integrity, discipline, and vision.

2. Integrity — Your Most Valuable Capital

You can recover from a financial loss, a failed experiment, or a rejected deal, but the loss of integrity is permanent. Integrity is choosing what is right even when it is slower, harder, or more expensive. It is protecting your name, honouring your word, and delivering what you promised. One of the clearest demonstrations of integrity as a business strategy is seen in the history of GTBank, co-founded by Fola Adeola and Tayo Aderinokun. From inception in 1990, they set out to build a different kind of bank, one whose core value was integrity. Their code of ethics states plainly: “To put integrity over everything else.” A Harvard Business School case study describes GTBank as being “known for its high ethical standards.” That reputation was intentional, not accidental. Trust became their competitive advantage. Between 1990 and 1995, over 100 banks were licensed in Nigeria. By 1998, almost half had failed. GTBank did not have the largest balance sheet, but it had the most crucial asset, trust. Customers flocked to it.

Integrity also means honouring your credit obligations. Credit is the lifeblood of business. If your lenders, whether friends, relatives, or banks, cannot trust you to repay, your business is finished. Let me give you a contrast.

Years ago, two Nigerians were running similar car distribution businesses, both getting vehicles on credit from foreign manufacturers. One of them enjoyed the lifestyle — collected the cars, sold them, and refused to pay back. The credit stopped. The business collapsed. Meanwhile, a businessman called Elizade kept repaying every credit extended to him — religiously, consistently. His foreign partners found him trustworthy. Today, over 40 years later, he not only remains in business but owns an assembly plant and chairs the Nigerian subsidiary of the same Japanese company he once merely represented. Trustworthiness built a multi-billion-naira enterprise. Integrity will open doors that talent cannot. Integrity builds a brand long before advertising ever does.

3. Diligence and Preparedness — Excellence Behind the Scenes

Hard work may not trend on social media, but it builds empires. People admire the spotlight but rarely see the sweat. You must therefore cultivate a strong work ethic — not just personally but culturally within your organisation. Consider Lebanese-owned restaurants in Nigeria. Why do they thrive for decades? Work ethic. They are present from the beginning of the day to the end. Their discipline becomes the backbone of the business. Look at Double Four in Lagos—around since the 1990s. Look at City View in Abuja—decades strong. Consistency. Discipline. Presence. Preparedness is equally critical. Success rewards those who are ready when opportunity whispers. King Solomon put it this way: “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but time and chance happen to them all.”

Time, chance and opportunity are crucial. But opportunity does not always announce itself. As someone said, “The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of that opportunity.” Let me give you an example. A lady who worked with me years ago had a lifelong dream of doing a master’s degree in Law in the United States. She prayed about it, talked about it, believed in it. One day, out of the blue, we received an offer from a US foundation through an embassy to nominate a female candidate for a full master’s degree and fellowship. Rejoicing everywhere! The problem? We had two days to the deadline. That afternoon, we needed to submit her passport. She did not have one. We tried everything to get a passport the next day, but we couldn’t. She lost the opportunity, not for lack of desire, but for lack of preparedness. Opportunity comes to the prepared.

4. Delayed Gratification — Sacrifice Today, Dominance Tomorrow

Many businesses collapse not because they fail, but because the founders are impatient. We live in an age that celebrates shortcuts and fast success. But real, sustainable growth takes time; time to learn, to build, to mature. Delayed gratification is the discipline to say, “I will sacrifice today to build something great tomorrow.”

One of the challenges among many young Nigerian entrepreneurs is the temptation to upgrade their lifestyle too early. A young founder makes a little profit and suddenly wants to fly business or first class, drive the same car as Africa’s richest man, or carry the same handbag as Africa’s wealthiest woman. But great global entrepreneurs lived modestly for years. You will rarely find a young Japanese founder flying business class. By the time they can afford it, many of them can afford to buy the plane.

Delay gratification and ignore social media pressure. Reinvest in your business, in machinery, technology, processes, and people. Your future success is shaped by your ability to wait wisely.

5. Three Things More Important Than Talent or Money

Talent may get you noticed, money may start the engine, but without integrity, reliability, and discipline, people will not trust you. Deals will evaporate. Growth will stall. Vision will perish. ThriveAgric secured a $56m facility after a spectacular failure because they handled their failure with integrity. Hard work transforms talent into mastery, and vision gives direction to all your effort. So, cultivate character above all. Character is the only asset that never depreciates.

6. Success as Responsibility — Paying Back the Privilege

In a society with many disadvantaged people, those who have opportunities must view success as a responsibility. When you have an opportunity in a developing society, you are not just fighting for yourself; you are fighting for a generation. Your success becomes a signal, an inspiration, and an open door for many others. So, give your opportunity everything you have. Excel not just for yourself, but for those who will follow after you.

As you build your businesses, remember: perseverance fuels resilience, integrity sustains reputation, diligence and preparedness open doors. Delayed gratification multiplies success, and vision gives meaning to all your labour. Above all, character keeps you in the room long after talent and money have run their course.

I wish you great success in the years ahead! Thank you.