Nigerian entrepreneurs were hosted at the 10th edition of the LEAP Africa CEOs Forum. The grand event took place on June 9th at the Oriental Hotel in Victoria Island with hundreds of business executives in attendance.
LEAP Africa – Leadership Effectiveness Accountability Professionalism – is one of Nigeria’s leading development and non-profit organisations and strives to empower and equip youths and entrepreneurs. Its end goal is to transform Nigerians into dynamic and ethical leaders who will in turn improve economic development in Africa. It was founded by Mrs. Ndidi Nwuneli in 2002 and has impacted over 40,000 individuals since conception.
This year’s forum was centered on the theme,
Staying Ahead – Maximizing Profit and Mitigating Risks with a focus on small and medium scale entrepreneurs. Speakers included MD/CEO of Nestle Nigeria, Mr. Dharnesh Gordhon, who primarily emphasized the inevitability of risks in entrepreneurship. “Every business person has to embrace risk,” he mentioned. “Embracing risks is in the DNA of every entrepreneur.” He was also quick to point out that entrepreneurs are natural risk takers regardless, considering their willingness to leave a 9 to 5 job for the uncertainty of entrepreneurial success.
The second half of the event comprised an interactive panel featuring the Executive Director of Finance and Strategy, Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman who shared thoughts on financial risks in business operations.”Financial risks start the day you start your business,” he noted.
Mr. Suleiman identified the role of banks in providing counsel to reduce undesired financial risks, and the failure of many SME owners to document past successes. This ultimately affects their chances of getting funding from banks who prefer the documentation to forecasts of future cashflow.
Another panelist, Adepeju Adebajo, MD/CEO of Lafarge Cement Nigeria identified the ease in risk manageability with the implementation of certain strategies – the identification of risks ahead of time, treatment of risks through insurance and their outsourcing if the need arises. In addition, the audience was encouraged to remain optimistic at all times. “Don’t be so risk averse that you refuse to leave your house and miss your opportunities,” she stated.
Oluwole Oshin represented the insurance industry on the panel, highlighting the sector’s low penetration rate in Nigeria due to mistrust by citizens. According to Oshin, this is disadvantageous to entrepreneurs who need the support given by the sector to manage risk. “The only way to grow your business and take it to the next level without having to look back is to transfer that risk to another existing party like an insurance company,” he stated.
The last executive on the panel, Claire Omatseye, focused on the concept of building a corporate culture of risk management. “Leadership and employees must understand what risk is,” she said. She also explained that employees must be informed by their employers of the risks being faced by their companies and be encouraged to operate as intrapreneurs. “If something goes wrong, we shouldn’t blame the administration but ourselves.”
The conference ended with an engaging question and answer session and the launch of LEAP’s latest book, The Art Of Managing Risks, which is available for sale.
