Reasons why Nigerian business don’t last long – IniOnuk, CEO Thistle Praxis

IniOnuk, has in the space of 5 years become Africa’s sustainability Czar thanks to the work she has done in that field with her company, Thistle Praxis. Her annual African CEO Roundtable and Conference on Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (AR-CSR) has become the agenda setting event for the practice.

In this interview with PATRICK ATUANYA, IniOnuk speaks about plans for the 5^th edition with Mervyn King as Keynote speaker, what Sustainable Governance means and why businesses in Nigeria usually fold up once the owner/founder is no more at the helm.

 You have organized the AR-CSR™ for 4 years, about to host the 5^th; what is the future of this event and where do you envision taking this discourse to?

Indeed, how time flies. Our fifth edition is here; just feels like a year ago when we started this initiative. The future of the AR-CSR™ lies in its evolution into a stand-alone organization, Foundation for Sustainability & Responsibility in Africa (FSRA). We intend to take this discourse further by breaking the annual themes into more customized sub-themes for each stakeholder group to exhaustively discuss and integrate. FSRA will be formally unveiled at the AR-CSR™ and will commence work with the annual research study and publication as well as the Regional Meetings, Work Groups and Alliance for Sustainability & Responsibility in Africa. This is a long-term vision and we are living by example to establish a better governing model, away from ThistlePraxis Consulting leading and only getting support from strategic partner organisations.

Mervyn King is not just king of corporate governance he is god, how difficult was it getting him to be keynote speaker at AR-CSR™ 2015?

Oh! I already shared this. We reached his office in May 2014 to book his participation for June 2015. It was early and we did not get a firm nod until January 2015 because of the elections and uncertainty at that time. The xenophobic attacks also gave us cause for concern but we are grateful we scaled that. Prof. King apparently has been invited to Nigeria a few times but his schedule always worked against it. We are delighted to host the King of Corporate Governance.

There have been recent topical Corporate Governance issues in Africa; launch of a CG program new code in Zimbabwe, challenges with developing a code in Nigeria and the recent court order stopping a public hearing. What are your thoughts on these?

It’s been very encouraging to observe the recent yet speedy developments in the Corporate Governance space across the continent. These mean that we are spot on with our choice of a theme and also strategic in ensuring that a unique conversation such as that which will hold at the AR-CSR™ takes place. We cannot have such substantial reforms in the African business environment without mainstreaming sustainability. It will be too late to visit the relationship and implications for sustainable development later, this is the best time to review and expand the picture. This is another reason to participate at this event.

What are your specific future plans for this event across the continent?

I shared the immediate plans a short while ago. To sum this up, we plan to lead the integration of sustainability fully into the African business environment. When we have substantially achieved this, we will move to the second phase. I can however, only share this first phase.

Why in your opinion are there issues with longevity of businesses in Nigeria and Africa; even family-owned businesses? Is this not a failure of the Corporate Governance your organization promotes and preaches?

That is a brilliant observation but I do not quite agree with the linkage to a failure of corporate governance. This is a trend worthy of note and should also bother many entrepreneurs and business leaders especially those listed as the wealthiest on the continent. Very few businesses have outlived 3-4 generations of the founders or founding families. It is indeed worrisome nonetheless; corporate governance best practices help organisations to steer away from the challenges that hinder long-term competitiveness and growth. Although corporate governance alone cannot guarantee the existence of an organisation but its tenets and best practices guide business leaders to check trends that result in this failure you currently credit corporate governance for.

There have been many concepts and terminologies in the Sustainability space, please explain what Sustainable Governance means?

Sustainable governance is a recommended form of governance for both private and public sectors that incorporates sustainability considerations. Beyond its peripheral meaning, which suggests that, it is a form of governance that can be sustained over time; it optimizes sustainability principles to influence more impactful governance outcomes.

Corporate Governance has been treated separately from Sustainability, yet again; you merge both concepts. Can you explain the relationship between these?

From our past publications, information resource and research products, we have always advocated for a proper view of sustainability. This is because; CSR and Corporate Governance are aspects of sustainability. An organization cannot mainstream sustainability without aligning the strategy with governance input and outcomes. Let’s take the seven pillars of social responsibility as promoted by the ISO 26000 Guidance Standard – organizational governance is the first. Without governance, sustainability will remain an ideal and nice-to-consider idea.

ThistlePraxis has been known for Thought Leadership. Do you think your efforts are yielding fruits as envisaged and how?

We will continue to do our best to promote Thought Leadership. However, we have taken this a notch higher with pay-it-forward initiatives. Whilst Thought Leadership is great, we are convinced that our society and business environment requires an additional step to implement some of the ideas with pilot or sample initiatives so the early adopters and laggards can follow faster and better. This we will do more of in the coming years. To answer the second part of your question, we have seen results and are pleased by them. It’s been only 5 years since ThistlePraxis was set up and we are proud of our achievements. In practical terms, we have seen the springing up of more consulting firms in this space as well as realignment by the bigger and older firms to include sustainability as a service area; we have also noted the inclusion of sustainability in many fields, executive education has been boosted in this field although we are still far off the mark, the banking industry does not seem less resolute to ensure the regulation of sustainable banking. Our research data and information resource, currently about the largest in the sub-region is a reference point for thought, expertise and information on key thematic areas. In spite of this, we are only starting off; there is so much to be done and we will continue to blaze the trail.

Your 2015 theme is silent on MSMEs although there is an event feature to showcase eco-friendly small businesses; how does this thematic direction align with small and emerging enterprises that cannot afford robust governance best practices?

We are not silent but just did not emphasize MSMEs in our conference agenda this year for good reasons. The listed and multinational corporations only make up a tiny fraction, which means our focus is on MSMEs and indigenous firms. This reminds me about the concern for sustainability and its implication or feasibility for start-ups. Truth is, they need these more than the MNCs, as enterprises to dominate the market place in the near future. For this year’s event, we have waived 50 percent of the registration fees to encourage MSMEs to participate.

After the 5^th edition and the new non-profit structure what next for Thistle Praxis?

We will continue as an organization providing first-class consulting services to a range of existing and new clients. More importantly, we are going to solidify our African footprints shortly and make formal announcements on our work across the continent.

We have laid out the plans for the first 5 years, during this phase and beyond, we will critically consider education for sustainability. We are convinced that we can do more than just brush up graduates and professionals for sustainability-based roles. We can fully train and mold minds in these areas for the future and specifically to fit into various sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Does this mean you are taking a back seat for a project that has defined thought leadership on sustainability; what more do we expect from you as Africa’s Sustainability czar?

Sure, I will take a back seat, which is inevitable at some point in the life of any business leader, visionary or founder. I will continue to mentor others, share knowledge and find time to court my passion for writing. I have written three (3) books and contributed many chapters in professional publications but will want to document by consultancy experiences.