As Nigerians grapple with economic uncertainties with the business environment becoming more challenging, an economic expert has called on entrepreneurs and business leaders to reinvent their business model and evolve a new way of getting things done.
This was the thrust of a presentation at the formal inauguration of the OTA-PARAPO Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OPCCIMA), by a Professor of Economics at Covenant University, Ota, and Founding Chair, DePECOS Institutions and Development Research Centre (DIaDeRC), Nigeria, Professor Evans Osabuohien.
Professor Osabuohien, speaking on the theme ‘Enhancing Business Sustainability in Turbulent Times’, said the presence of turbulence is the clarion call for the development of values to address the identified emerging challenges through innovation and creativity.
With Nigeria in focus, he emphasised the role of lack of confidence in government, exchange rate volatility, insecurity issues, poor infrastructure base, increased interest rate affecting lending, as regular business turbulence affecting the environment.
“Over the past two years, there has been an increase in monetary policy rate (MPR) by 1,475 basis point, from 11.5% in May 2022 to 26.25% in May 2024. The Naira has depreciated from N422 in September 2022 to N1,605 in September 2024. This has made confidence to be low on the implementation of policies in the country as one cannot trust the possibility of new policies to support business,” he added.
According to him, business turbulence has the intrinsic potential to pull out the best in an entrepreneur, enhancing their competence in an unstable circumstance, as it is a time for information updates and decision authenticity, embrace of collaboration and stakeholder engagement, efficiency in effective negotiation and agreement with partners, going beyond the records to ascertain the reality and work at delivering excellence service to clienteles.
He highlighted the importance of innovating to maintain sustainability despite challenging business environment. These include optimising the operational framework of the business, increase productivity, organisational transformation, cost containment, amongst other factors.
Professor Osabuohien said in order to succeed, corporate organisations should have a focused strategy developed from a good understanding of the competitive environment and trends and at the same time reinvent business model by redefining the primary target customers and the value proposition is equally relevant.
In evolving a collaborative relationship in a turbulent business climate, the erudite scholar charged the audience to avoid compromise of trade secrets of partners, develop a savings culture in building a bulwark against instability, avoid the challenge of ‘money illusion,’ engage in intermittent evaluation for effective decision-making and make it a rule to continuous invest after due-diligence.
The event was graced by dignitaries and business leaders across Ogun State and beyond; from the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Her Excellency. Engr (Mrs) Noimot Salako-Oyedele, and other Royal Fathers and executives of the chamber.
The Presentation slide is available online for FREE via this LINK.
Also, the highpoints reported by Ogun Television (OGTV) are embedded herein:
