As the business world continues to evolve, experts say adaptability, collaboration, and building trust capital will help keep businesses going in hard times.
“The first job of any leader or CEO is that of a risk manager, risk has never left but it is nowhere with a bang, ” Akintoye Akindele, CEO, Platform Capital Group said at the ongoing BusinessDay CEO Forum.
“In a rapidly changing world where borders are gradually being eroded by technology, businesses must leverage on data, knowledge, and a robust business model to scale faster,” Akindele said
Elohor Aiboni, MD, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) explained that to drive efficiency in any organization, businesses must embrace digitalization and technology.
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“We must ensure that our business strategy is robust and able to adapt to the different changes that we see coming,” Aiboni said.
The experts also pointed out that although technology is key, the people are its core asset and its main focus.
Akindele explained that entrepreneurship has a mandate of taking care of people before profit.
“Profit will always come when you invest in sustainable practice, invest in people, and when you create a conveyor belt of opportunities that continue to give. It should be people, the planet, and then profit,” he said.
Akindele further explained that focusing on the people helps a business build trust capital.
“Any business that ignores the social contract between companies and society cannot have a sustainable business,” he said.
The role of collaboration was also emphasised at the forum.
Ireti Samuel-Ogbu, CEO, Citibank Nigeria, speaking on the banking system in Nigeria said banks have the legacy and are slower to respond but Fintechs are agile and able to deploy technology to respond quickly but they do not have legacy and long-standing client relationships.
“No matter what side, I see a unique opportunity for banks and Fintechs to collaborate and have a complementary relationship,” Samuel-Ogbu said.
She also explained that for any business to succeed, it must be a trusted advisor, a trusted partner to clients, and be responsible for delivering solutions.
