Businesses are often encouraged to grow, expand their markets and pursue new opportunities. But what happens when the ambition to grow is not matched by the structures, systems, knowledge and support needed to sustain that growth?
It is a question that sits at the centre of Chimamaka Ige’s work as Founder and Lead Consultant at Advance Consulting. Through her work with entrepreneurs and organisations, she is focused on helping businesses move beyond simply staying operational to building the capabilities required for sustainable growth.
For Chimamaka, the challenge facing many businesses is not necessarily a lack of ambition. It is that business owners are often expected to figure out complex questions about strategy, operations, people, finance and market access while managing the everyday demands of running an enterprise. Access to the right knowledge, expertise and business support can make a significant difference, but these resources are not always within reach.
This is part of the thinking behind Innovate 2026, the third edition of Advance Consulting’s flagship business conference. Through the conference, Chimamaka is bringing entrepreneurs, business leaders, industry professionals and ecosystem stakeholders together to have practical conversations about what it takes to build stronger businesses and access emerging opportunities.
This year’s focus is on intra-African trade and the readiness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in a more integrated African marketplace. While the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has opened up important conversations about trade and market access, many business owners are still trying to understand what these developments mean for their individual businesses.
Speaking to Nigerian Business Info (NBI) ahead of the conference, Chimamaka explained that business owners hear about the opportunities but are often left asking practical questions: What does this mean for my business? Where do I fit in? What do I need to do differently?
She believes that the conversation needs to move closer to the realities of running a business. Trade readiness, in her view, should not be something entrepreneurs begin considering only when they are ready to enter another African market. It begins with the decisions they make today to strengthen their businesses.
“Trade readiness is not something they begin to think about only when they are ready to enter another African market. It starts with the decisions they make about strengthening their businesses today,” she said.
That conviction informs the theme of Innovate 2026, “Democratizing Trade: Simplifying Intra-African Trade for SMEs.” The conference aims to make the subject more accessible to business owners by connecting the broader conversation around African trade with the practical work of building businesses that can compete and grow.
Anchored on the guiding principle “Trade Readiness Starts Today,” the conference will examine five interconnected pillars: PAY, SELL, OPERATE, REGULATE and COMPLY. The framework covers payment infrastructure and financial solutions, market access and sales, business structures and operations, the regulatory environment, and the legal, tax and compliance obligations businesses must understand.
The choice of these areas reflects an important distinction in the way Advance Consulting approaches business growth. Preparing for new markets is not simply about finding customers in another country. Businesses must also understand how they receive payments, manage their operations, develop their teams, meet regulatory requirements and maintain the systems needed to support expansion.
For Chimamaka, creating a platform for these conversations is also about recognising that entrepreneurs cannot build sustainable businesses in isolation. They need access to people, institutions, resources, networks and partnerships that can help them make progress. Bringing these different parts of the business ecosystem into one space creates opportunities for shared learning and collaboration.
This thinking has shaped the build-up to Innovate 2026. Over the past ten weeks, Advance Consulting has hosted four free webinars covering business visibility, people and talent, taxation, and markets. The sessions have opened up practical conversations around some of the issues that influence how businesses grow and compete. The conference will take these discussions further by bringing together a wider group of business leaders, professionals and ecosystem stakeholders.
The two-day programme will feature a Founder Panel themed “Building Beyond Your Current Market,” moderated by Flourish Ubanyi, Co-Founder of Delight Finance. The panel will feature Ijeoma Adesanya, Founder of NeemaTai; Morenike Molehin, Founder and CEO of Oak & Teak Interiors; and Tosin Sanni, Founder of Kharis Coaching. They will explore the realities of building beyond existing markets, including the business decisions, investments, systems and mindset shifts required to sustain growth.
An Insight Panel, themed “The Parts of Trade Founders Often Overlook – PAY, COMPLY, OPERATE,” will be moderated by Chioma Enwereji-Ogbonda, Marketing and Communications Manager at Evercare Hospital Lekki. Speakers include Munachimso Duru, Chief of Staff to the MD/CEO of AfriGO; Naomi Kabowei, Associate, Corporate Commercial at Streamsowers & Köhn; and Akindele Phillips, Founder and Managing Director of We Practice Africa.
Participants will also take part in practical masterclasses on business visibility, people capability, sales development and building businesses for growth. The sessions will be led by Nkechi Idinmachi, Founder of Cresciva; Oyindamola Ossi, Co-Founder and CEO of VampAI; Hannatu Adegboyega; and Akindele Phillips. Dr. Oloyi Boye-Ajayi, Managing Partner at Borderless Trade & Investments, will deliver the keynote address.
Beyond the sessions, Chimamaka wants the conference to facilitate meaningful connections between business owners, service providers, financial institutions, government agencies and other stakeholders. The intention is for participants to leave with more than information: they should have opportunities to discover relevant resources, build relationships, explore collaborations and identify practical steps they can take within their businesses.
The experience is anchored on four principles: LEARN. CONNECT. COLLABORATE. TAKE ACTION. These principles capture the kind of engagement Advance Consulting hopes to create, one where knowledge is connected to relationships and conversations lead to practical action.
Bringing the conference together has involved engaging business communities, mobilising support and working with individuals and organisations that share an interest in strengthening Nigerian enterprises. For Advance Consulting, this is part of a wider belief that meaningful progress for SMEs requires collective effort. Entrepreneurs need more than encouragement to grow. They need an ecosystem that makes knowledge, expertise, resources and opportunities more accessible.
Through Advance Consulting, Chimamaka continues to work towards this goal by helping entrepreneurs and organisations build strategic, structured and sustainable businesses through coaching, curriculum and consultations. Innovate is one of the firm’s flagship ecosystem initiatives, extending this work beyond individual consulting engagements to create a space for wider conversations and collaboration.
Ultimately, the message behind this year’s conference is that businesses do not have to wait for an opportunity to arrive before they begin preparing for it. The decisions they make about their people, processes, finances, systems and markets today will influence the opportunities they can pursue tomorrow.
Innovate 2026 will hold on Thursday, November 12 and Friday, November 13, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily at Celebr8 Centre HQ, Vori Close, Acme Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, trade professionals, ecosystem organisations and other stakeholders interested in building stronger businesses and exploring opportunities within the African marketplace are invited to participate.
Registration is open at https://advancecompany.ng/innovate2026.
