Innovation as key to addressing economic challenges

In its quest to address the current economic challenges facing Nigeria and the world, particularly the youth population, Access Bank Plc recently gathered captains of industry, renowned academics and political leaders at its World Leadership Conference held in Lagos to offer perspectives on leadership and innovation.

All the speakers and panellists at the conference, including Hans Rosling, Steve Wozniack, Mohammed Yunus, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Gbenga Oyebode, among others, gave insightful views on innovation, digital trends, cyber security and leadership.

While stressing that household sizes would determine national growth and prosperity across nations, the speakers unanimously agreed that with the demographics in African countries, there was a significant potential for the growth in Africa to supersede that in the Americas and Europe and catch up with Asia.

“China got rich because they had fewer children and could give everyone a good education,” said Rosling, a Swedish doctor, academic and statistician, in a lecture titled ‘Mapping Innovation’.

In his welcome remark, Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos State, pledged his government’s commitment to creating an environment where entrepreneurship can thrive. He also announced the creation of ‘Pitch at Lagos’, a platform for young people to pitch their ideas and potentially get sponsorship.

Herbert Wigwe, managing director/CEO, Access Bank, in his opening address asked, “What if literacy level in Nigeria was 100 percent?” He followed up with a few other ‘what if’ questions, saying that the “conference should enable everyone of us to ask the important question, ‘what if?’” He also discussed how Access Bank has been using innovation to solve problems and cater to needs, adding, “Innovation is no longer an option. It’s a necessity!”

According to Wigwe, there were significant opportunities which everyone, especially the youths, must grab to contribute positively to the development of the world.

“Leadership in a transformation world, not only benefits from innovation, but it demands it. At Access Bank, we recognise that innovation is key to our business and of course to the financial services industry. What we have done in Access Bank is to use innovation to turn threats into opportunity and offer excellent services to our customers,” Wigwe said.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, president of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) and former managing director/CEO of Access Bank, said Nigeria needs to embrace disruptive technology to address its challenges. Specifically, he advocated that banks should allow telecommunication companies to hold deposit taking licences.

“We should not be scared of giving one to two telcos deposit taking licences,” he said, adding that the innovation that has changed the face of banking in Nigeria has come from disruptive technology.

Most of the innovations discussed at the conference were driven by a partnership between the public and private sector as the speakers x-rayed the importance of social media in achieving desired results in both public and private spheres.

The first panel discussion centred on ‘How to Break the Status Quo: Defining Innovation and how it comes about’. The panellists were Nnamdi Ekeh, co-founder, Yudala, Nigeria; Mariana Mazzucato, professor of Economics of Innovation, University of Sussex, United Kingdom; Narayana Murthy, founder, Infosys Technologies, India; and Ted Souder, head of Industry and Retail, Google Inc., USA. This group of prominent and renowned innovators from different backgrounds and various fast-growth economies discussed the essential attributes of innovation. They revealed the strategic, organizational and behavioural factors that separate successful innovators from the rest.

Perhaps the heartiest and most engaging session of the event was the conversation between José María Figueres, president, Carbon War Room, USA and former president of the Republic of Costa Rica (1994-1998), and Steve Wozniak, co-founder, Apple, USA. The tech genius told his personal story and how he and the late Steve Jobs co-founded today’s most profitable company in the world – Apple Inc. The exciting session had the innovative Wozniak and the eminent ex-president José discuss how a far-reaching vision can become a compelling catalyst for innovation.

Other panellists at the conference include Kinvara Balfour, fashion trend expert from the United Kingdom; Lanre Da Silva Ajayi, fashion designer and founder, LDA Couture; Chinedu Echeruo, founder, hopstop.com; Obinna Ekezie, former NBA player, co-founder and CEO, wakanow.com; and Alec Ross, author and Hillary Clinton’s former “tech guru”, who discussed the topic, ‘What is coming next? An introduction to Future Digital Trends’.
The bi-annual event organized by Access Bank has become one to look forward to as it brings highly respected and influential global and industry leaders together; leaders who, through their personal stories and wealth of experience, inspire millions to aspire for greatness. This year’s conference was themed ‘Leading in a transformational world – The imperative of innovation’.