Economists task businesses on resilience, adaptability amid economic landscape

By Rukayat Moisemhe

Some Economists have emphasised the need for business organisations to be more resilient and adaptable to grab the opportunities available in the midst of a challenging economic landscape.

They gave the advice on Monday in Lagos via a communique from the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD) and Samtl webinar.

The webinar’s theme was: “From Surviving to Thriving: Cultivating Resilience for Business Growth in Times of Economic Uncertainties”.

Alhaji Tijjani Borodo, President, CIoD, said the global and national economic landscape was rife with challenges such as structural rigidities and economic fluctuations, creating a complex environment for businesses to operate in.

He, however, noted that in the midst of these uncertainties, was immense opportunities, and that directors, CEOs and stakeholders, were entrusted with the responsibility of leading organisations through turbulent times.

“The theme of today’s webinar underscores the need for us to grapple with structural rigidities and economic realities that shape the business environment.

“The key to success in such an environment lies in cultivating resilience and building strong, adaptable organisations and we should not only withstand challenges but also seize the opportunities that inevitably arise.

“Resilience is not just about weathering the storm; it is about emerging stronger and more agile than before and turning challenges into opportunities and transforming adversity into growth.

“It is about building a business ecosystem that is not only robust but also adaptable to the ever-changing dynamics of the global marketplace,” he said.

Dr Ayo Teriba, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Economic Associates, noted that while the economic challenges from global scene could be reversed or were temporary, the ongoing post industrial transition was not.

According to Teriba, the challenges presented by the post-industrial transitions were mostly permanent and it was important not to ignore the trend shift defined by post-industrial transitions.

He urged countries and companies to keep a keen eye on the transitional forces, saying that failure to respond to those transitional processes define fresh sources of uncertainties.

He, however, stressed that the post-industrial transition not only came with challenges but presented fresh opportunities.

“Countries can now be categorised into those that are seizing the new opportunities and those that are not.

“Companies similarly will eventually be easily categorised as those that are seizing these transitional opportunities and those that are not.

“The industrial age has peaked and now industrialisation is in reverse. They call it de-industrialisation.

“Only those countries who are able to transit from primary reliance on outputs, towards greater reliance on assets, are able to unlock liquidity, maintain stability, sustain growth and to maintain sociopolitical harmony,” he said.

Mr Olufemi Awoyemi, Chairman, Proshare Nigeria Ltd., emphasised the need for Nigeria to be able to move faster than the economic changes and trends that have occured.

Awoyemi said that the response to change required an organisation to be comfortable with uncomfortable developments, which means that to transition from survival to thriving, the organisation had to be deliberate and decisive about it.

“To structure a thriving organisation, you must be prudent, adopt an agile adaptation strategy, collaborate and partner annd aLeo absorb your share into another organisation in order to keep yourself alive,” he said.

Dr Chinyere Almona, Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), stressed the need for everyone to build capacity within an organisation.

Almona said that the work must not be left alone to just the CEO or those in the C-suite but the entire institution, building a stronger framework to be able to navigate turbulent times.

“First thing to navigate turbulent times is to build resilience, which is the cornerstone of enduring success in today’s volatile markets.

“It is not merely about weathering the storm, but about leveraging the challenges as catalysts for innovation-led growth.

“It is important for companies to embrace agility because in times of economic uncertainty, I like to say agility reigns and that is just being able to navigate very quickly around things.

“The other thing I have is called adaptability.

“Even in these turbulent times, because you must be willing to reassess your strategies, revise your plan, embrace change proactively and you must foster that culture across the organisation,”she said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Vivian Ihechu