Old Mutual Nigeria empowers SME’s on risks management for business growth

To enable Small and Medium Scale Enterprises survive and achieve expected growth, the need for effective risks management plan has been identified.

Experts at Old Mutual Nigeria, who made the observation, noted that with 37 million SMEs contributing 48 percent of the country’s GDP, the sector is key and therefore its safety cannot be taken for granted for a sustained economic growth.

Leading the discussion was Kunle-Odetola Odeleye, chief risks officer, as the anchor; Dumebi Okonkwo, head of bancassurance and distribution, as discussant and Tubi Makanjuola, head corporate Sales, as discussant, all of Old Mutual Nigeria.

Speaking on the theme: ‘Managing Risks In Uncertain Times: Enabling SMEs TO Succeed’, they observed the recent happenings in our environment (country) including Covid-19 pandemic and #EndSARS protest mayhem have further exposed the vulnerability of the SMEs to risks given the level of destruction across the country .

They observed that insurance basically provides the platform for the protection of SME’s. So, SMEs need to realise that insurance is a necessary investment rather than an ancillary luxury.

“Insurance protects against economic losses caused by damage to the business owners, property and legal liability to others for bodily injury and property damage involving business”.

On the #EndSARS protest and damage to businesses, the experts stated that the financial losses from all of these can be protected if you have the right insurance solution.

They therefore, advised SMEs who participated in the virtual conference to discuss with their insurance officers or brokers to do risks assessment of their business to understand threatening risks and provide for them.

“Insurance allows business owners to run their companies without having to worry about unexpected events that can slow them down or bring them to a complete halt, the experts noted.