Nigerian Business Owners Tasked On Adaptability Amid Changing Economic Climate

Firms and businesses in Nigeria have been urged to reposition their trades and deploy innovation for sustainability amidst the unpredictability in the economic landscapes of Nigeria and West Africa.

Hence, innovation helps develop unique products and services that set firms apart from other competitors through innovative thinking and problem-solving.

This was disclosed at the 14th West Africa Innovation Awards held in Lagos tagged “Digital Innovation In West Africa: A Challenge for Business Leaders,” as industry experts asserted the significance of innovation and resilience in sustaining an efficient business.

Speaking at the event, the chairman, Organising Committee for West Africa Innovation Awards, Camil Chineme, ably represented by the Program Director, Mr Abidemi Adesanya, emphasized the role of innovation in the ever-changing business climate.

He alluded that innovation would help create a strategic competitive edge for businesses in the marketplace.

”Innovation is simply doing what you are doing now in a better way through a better process, to get better products and better services, that’s the key. So if you don’t innovate, be prepared to go into extinction, he stated.

He added, “If our leaders are not innovating, most of the people here will not be in business again. While the private sector is getting the hits, what the private sector is going through in Nigeria and West Africa if there is no innovation, everybody would have fizzled out from the pension industry to finance, the digital banks and others.

“Everything is changing because everybody is innovating. So that’s the key and the private sector leaders must continue to pay attention to innovation to make things better,” he said.

Similarly, ED Growth & Operations, PRA Insurance Brokers, Ososanya Uchenna, expressed the need for continuous innovation in the insurance sector for sustainability.

“As an innovative insurance brokering firm, what we do is to look outward and design unique and customised products for innovation and risk bearers to mitigate their risks and protect against unforeseen events by innovating and marrying it with tech to drive down insurance penetration in Nigeria and Africa,” she averred.

Meanwhile, among the 24 awardees at the Gala event, Stanbic IBTC won the award of the Most Customer-focused Trust and Investment Company of the Year, Keystone Bank won the Most Trusted Customer-focused Bank of the Year, Julius Berger won Best Construction and Infrastructure Development of the Decade award, BUA won the Best Home Ownership Cement Brand of the Year and First Registrars won the Best Pension Company of the Year, amongst others.