Lagos Business School aims at providing experienced professional managers with high quality general management education relevant to the Nigerian business environment. The institution began in 1991 as the Centre for Professional Communications, and later changed its name to Lagos Business School in 1992.

 

The School delivers executive programmes at top and middle management levels aimed at systematically improving the practice of management in Nigeria. LBS offers a wide spectrum of open-enrollment seminars on essential issues in business for business leaders and managers. Customized in-company seminars are also arranged for companies who need to train large groups of staff in a particular area. Delivered in the purpose-built learning facilities, LBS programmes attract over 3,000 participants from multinational and indigenous companies yearly.

Executive education at LBS is comprehensive, drawing from the experiences of multinational faculty and participants. Our system of teaching ensures that participants gain management knowledge and skills, by employing the case-study method and group-work approach to learning. We believe in learning by doing.

At LBS (as in the rest of the University), the fundamental inspiration is provided by the Christian vision of man, society and economic activity. The Prelature of Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church, takes responsibility for guaranteeing that this vision underlies all teaching, publishing and research activities of the School.

The School places a premium on maintaining a very keen relationship with the corporate clientele it serves. Constant interaction with participating organisations, a committed corporate support group of 70 companies, plus counsel and support rendered by the School's distinguished Advisory Board play major roles in securing this linkage.

In January 2002, the Federal Government granted approval for the establishment of Pan-African University and the Lagos Business School thus became the first school of the University. The School offers Executive MBA, MBA and doctoral programmes in addition to its excellent executive education programmes.

Since it was established in 2003, the focus of the EDS has been professionalizing and equipping managers of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) with the skills needed to achieve and sustain success in their entrepreneurial endeavours. Its flag-ship programme is the Certificate programme in Entrepreneurial Management (CEM) through which it trains and supports over 150 new business owners every year.

 

EDS has begun running the Social Sector Management (SSM) programmes. The aim of this programme is to educate managers of NGOs and other social entrepreneurs to creatively manage their resources and to professionalise their work so that the projects they are involved in become sustainable. Each annual edition of the programme will train 25 managers.

EDS operates as a membership club and offers the following support services to its members:

Advisory Services (Expert-In- Residence) – A pool of experts (mostly volunteers) in various fields are invited for business session to proffer advice to interested small business owners on the EDS network and provide answer to specific enquiries. They also enjoy follow-up services from the consultants and EDS staff.

Professional Services- Beyond advising members and alumni, specific professional services are provided. These services will cover Legal, Operations/Logistics. Strategy, HR, Accounting, Sales & Marketing issues etc. These services help members comply with regulations and meet financial institution's requirement for funding.

Network Meeting Dinner/Lunch – A monthly get together of members and SME owners to discuss "KEY ISSUES FACING SMEs".

Consulting- members and SMEs alike have access to consulting at two levels. On the first level, some of the MBA students at the Lagos Business School of Pan-African University will analyze real-life issues as well as follow-up services. On the second level, members and alumni can have access to a consortium of consultants consisting of professionals from various fields and faculty members of the Pan-African University.

Others- Members have access to EDS library and research findings, policy interpretations, SME Toolkit web portal etc. In addition, EDS members enjoys up to 20% discounts on ALL EDS programs and activities.

Partners: These are organizations and individuals who collaborate on the EDS initiative.

Donor Agencies: EDS already has the support of organizations such as Goldman Sachs10000 Women Initiative, IFC, a World Bank- (SME) Dept, Coca cola Africa Foundation, HP Nigeria and UNIDO.

Financial Institutions: These are some selected Nigerian banks and venture capital companies.

LBS Alumni: They form the core of professionals, volunteering and rendering specific services.

Volunteers: These are persons who donate of their time and professional services in the areas of assistance offered to members.

Collaborations in Provision of Services Internationally
Through a three-year grant from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the EDS model is being replicated in six institutions in four African countries, namely Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. The institutions in which these models are being replicated are:

• School of Finance & Banking, Rwanda
• University of Ghana Business School, Ghana
• Strathmore University, Kenya
• United States International University, Kenya
• Jumo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology, Kenya
• University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

In further collaboration with the Goldman Sachs, EDS is working with Cuttington University (in Liberia) to develop its faculty and to help it develop a certificate program in entrepreneurial management.

EDS is evolving into a scheme that is the catalyst for the building up of a vibrant and sustainable small-scale sector of Nigeria's economy. It is spurring positive and needed changes in the country's socio-economic landscape as everyone – the members, partners and volunteers -are contributing positively to the country's development by providing support services geared towards ensuring the growth of private initiative and enterprise. The resulting effect will be an environment where companies can focus on pursuing their business objectives rigorously, while ensuring the creation of wealth and its equitable distribution within the economy.

The School of Media and Communication has evolved directly from the Centre for Media and Communication. The CMC was instituted in 2006 by the Pan-African University Council in recognition of the critical role of this sector in shaping societal values and cultural life. No less important, the contribution of the creative industries to economic growth and the GDP is gaining recognition as well.

 

Specifically, the establishment of the School of Media and Communication is informed by the aspiration to train professionals in this area of culture who would uphold the highest intellectual, ethical and professional values that promote creativity, critical knowledge, technical perfection, social responsibility, and the spirit of enterprise. The School's programmes will prepare students for careers in the creative industries, in business generally, and in various public and private domains.

The vision of the School is to be internationally recognized as a prestigious institution offering high quality education in communication and media; to be a reference point for research in Africa, and to be a leading centre of learning globally.

Over 700 persons participate in the School's professional education programmes annually. In addition to the rich ensemble of professional education programmes, the school offers a Master of Science degree programme in Media and Communication.