Yaay I joined the Hotels NG internship cohort 9

Like the title says, I'm excited about joining the highly reputed Hotels NG annual internship founded by seasoned entrepreneur Mark Essien.

From running his company in Nigeria, Mark discovered that there is a large number of talented young people in Nigeria, however, there's also a severe shortage of well trained tech talent in the country and the demand for the well trained tech talent far outweighs supply.

Mark then decided to build a pipeline of well-trained tech talents by running an open internship system in which anyone with even a mobile phone can sign up to the program and go from a complete beginner into a relatively good software developer in a few months.

Mark's annual HNG internship program have gone on to become quite successful with several young people joining in from a number of countries across Africa. The program has also created quite a number of success stories who went from complete beginner with no tech experience to landing their dream tech job several months after completing the program.

I am excited to have joined the 9th edition, not as an intending  software developer but as a member of the Sales and Marketing cohort which was only introduced this year.

Truth is, we learn every day. Being a Digital Marketing practitioner in Nigeria I have seen several times the process by which Marketing translates into Sales. 

For most organizations who intend to make profit, marketing activities must translate into sales, if not immediately, at some point in the future. 

 The problem is most organizations in Nigeria want sales in the immediate without realizing that some products take more time to sell than others and it requires a bit of nurturing which may take some time to make happen.

This kind of organizational thinking puts so much pressure on sales people thus contributing to the notion that the sales job is hard.

This has led to resentment for the sales role, resulting in an acute lack of sales people in Nigeria. The lack of interest and low awareness about in sales in Nigeria has led to the misleading notion that "Marketing is Sales" therefore, an employer will expect a marketing person to drive sales and the average Nigerian believes that having a marketing job means you are a sales person.

 I'm not saying both roles don't sometimes meet but it is important to know that marketing and sales are distinct roles.

This is why I am glad that programs like the HNG program has introduced a Sales & Marketing track to not only create awareness about the distinctness of each roles but to also create well trained Sales & Marketing executives in Nigeria.

 I am glad to be a part of this program as I believe there will be a lot I will learn from Mark and his team's experience, besides that, I will have a valuable opportunity to build relationships with young people whom I believe will becoming Sales & Marketing rockstars in a few years after the program.

Meanwhile, Mark's team has built some great resources. A tech book store for people interested in advancing their tech careers & a platform that helps companies conduct background checks for prospective hires.

I expect more great products from this team.

Will expect your thoughts in the comments section of this writeup.