71% of serving CEOs expect Nigeria’s economic growth – Adeyemi

71 percent of the CEO’s serving in Nigeria said they were expecting the Nigerian economy to grow, Tola Adeyemi, senior partner at KPMG Nigeria has said.

According to KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook, in spite of short-term recession fears, the increased confidence CEOs have for the longer term indicates they feel well prepared to navigate their businesses through turbulent times.

“In fact, when asked about their confidence in the resiliency of the global economy over the next six months — a period likely to be fraught with uncertainty and constant change,73 percent still had a positive outlook, up 13 percentage points from February 2022,” the outlook stated.

Adeyemi, senior partner at KPMG Nigeria, that from a technology view, CEOs are clear that they need to spend on technology and technology spending is one of the biggest areas of expenditure.

“There is a realisation that customers are beginning to judge companies by the quality of digital experience that they provide their customers,” he said.

He further stated that CEOs were clear that they will push on their digital transformation journey and the area of priority today might not necessarily be an area of priority today or tomorrow.

“Digital has become more expensive in recent years and is expected to be more so,” Adeyemi said.

While speaking about talent management, Adeyemi said CEOs are focusing a lot on employee value proposition because of what is happening in the talent market which he referred to as ‘Japa wave’.

“CEOs are realising that there has got to be more transparency and focus on employees’ wellbeing,” he said.

KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook stated that while CEOs may be resilient, they’re also realistic about the challenges ahead.

“Seventy-three percent of CEOs believe a recession will upend anticipated growth over the next 3 years, and three-quarters (75%) also believe a recession will make post-pandemic recovery harder,” it said.

“Seventy-one percent of CEOs predict a recession will impact company earnings by up to 10 percent over the next 12 months.

“Compared to 2019 and 2020, CEOs are better prepared to weather short-term challenges with resilience measures in place, while still anticipating long-term growth,” the outlook stated.

It stated that the top three steps include boosting productivity (50%), managing costs (43%) and reconsidering digital transformation strategies (40%).

Adeyemi added CEOs are finding that employees are looking at which company to join based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) matters, hence there is increasing focus on ESG.

He also stated that in the area of finance, financiers are placing priority on environmental, social, and corporate governance so it is emerging.

Adeyemi also cited gender diversity as a major issue, he said “When we interviewed CEOs they told us that companies without gender diversity have seen it hunt them in the marketplace hence it is a business imperative.

“The focus of CEOs is on growth in the present time. There is a need for alliance because CEOs know that there should be an ecosystem where they develop strategic partnerships that help the company,” Adeyemi said.