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Women & Business

IWD 2022: Zedcrest Advocates For Gender Equality, Celebrates Female Employees

by Women Times on

As part of its commitment to inspire, engage, and empower women to reach their full potential, Zedcrest Group, a new-age principal investing and financial solutions powerhouse in Africa, hosted a national webinar in celebration of International Women’s Day on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.

Themed ‘Breaking the Bias’, this year’s International Women’s Day celebration is aimed at promoting gender equity across various sectors and spheres by celebrating women who have emerged pioneers in their respective fields.

While delivering the opening remark during the virtual event, Zedcrest’s Group Managing Director, Mr. Adedayo Amzat, said being a successful woman in a company or business entails not conforming to pre-determined standards and striving for excellence.

“At Zedcrest, we believe women play a significant role in the socio-economic and cultural development in every society. Advocacy campaigns and social discourses like this allow us to lead the conversation about creating a world free of gender bias and discrimination, a society where women can live, grow, and attain their full potential while also contributing positively to global development,” he said.

The virtual event had Dr. Laila St Matthew-Daniel, an Executive Coach & Behavioural Strategist, and Mrs. Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, a Social Justice Advocate and Social Worker, as guest speakers.

According to Mrs. Jonathan-Ichaver, “bias is prevalent in every aspect of our lives. Our brains are hardwired to categorize things we encounter to make sense of the complicated world around us. However, biases can cause us to form prejudices against others, which allows for egregious inequalities to form between different demographics”.

She noted that recent studies from Harvard Business Review and other research firms, have shown that inclusive teams make better business decisions, while teams with less diversity are more likely to make poor business decisions.

Women’s representation has increased across the pipeline since 2016. However, women — especially women of colour — remain significantly underrepresented in leadership.

“While there is a long road ahead to close the gender gap, creating a safe working environment, challenging stereotypes, offering equal opportunities for all genders, and being transparent about wages, are small steps in the right direction for gender equality in the workplace”, said Dr. Laila St Matthew-Daniel.

To ensure gender balance in the workplace, Mrs. Daniel said “Companies need to take bold steps to address burnout. They need to recognize and reward the women leaders who are driving progress. And they need to do the deep cultural work required to create a workplace where all women feel valued.”

In celebration of the 2022 International Women’s Day, female leaders at Zedcrest Group received a pen letter from the management team recognizing their leadership role and commitment to the organization’s goals.

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Women & Business

1000 Female Entrepreneurs Empowered to Expand Access to Markets

by Women Times on

After the frantic festive season rush, most businesses see a drop in sales at the start of the year. After two years of uncertain trade and economic downturn, the reduced turnover could prove fatal to small businesses run by female entrepreneurs.

This is why female entrepreneurs are being given a boost to their businesses – at a time when they need it most – in the form of online advertising to the value of R1 million. The partnership between Adbot and Future Females will see 1000 small businesses empowered to expand their access to markets.

Hardest hit by the economic downturn

Female entrepreneurs face a myriad of challenges their male counterparts don’t encounter, and research has shown that they’ve been disproportionately affected by the global pandemic.

Almost 60% of women-owned businesses are in sectors that were the worst affected by the economic downturn brought on by Covid-19. These include sectors such as retail, restaurants, food shops and domestic services [1]. The impact on these businesses was so severe that two-thirds of female employers were forced to take pay cuts, and more than 80% saw revenues fall[2]. This has been the experience of many entrepreneurs affiliated with Future Females.

“”We are very excited to be partnering with Adbot, especially at this crucial time of year when we know entrepreneurs are facing challenges due to lack of time, and wanting to capitalise on the gift giving period. This partnership allows us to support the entrepreneurs within the Future Females network by leveraging the user friendly Adbot platform in order to bypass the somewhat complex world of Google Ads – making it easier for female entrepreneurs to create their ads, AND increase their sales during this time of year, at no extra cost to themselves,” says Flora Fontes, Future Females’ Head Of Marketing Operations.

Future Females is a movement to inspire more female entrepreneurs and better support their success. This support is something women entrepreneurs are in dire need of. According to the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, South Africa’s progress in encouraging entrepreneurship has been low compared to other countries. Locally, women account for only 19.4% of business owners.

Empowering entrepreneurs to access markets

The lack of growth of female entrepreneurship is due to numerous reasons. Women are facing more regulatory barriers than their male counterparts[3] and have less access to funding[4].

Even in the age of technology, women face barriers to one of the most accessible forms of marketing – online advertising.

“Big brands with big budgets often dominate the online advertising space. But smaller businesses can benefit enormously from harnessing the potential of online advertising. This is why partnerships with companies that understand the challenges faced by entrepreneurs are essential for stimulating business growth. Getting more people to your website immediately increases your access to market,” explains Adbot chief executive Michelle Geere.

Adbot provides online advertising solutions for owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, supporting entrepreneurs contributing directly to economic growth and job creation.

“Our commitment is to help those businesses that have been hardest hit by the pandemic and economic downturn, which is why we’ve partnered with Future Females to give women entrepreneurs, like ourselves, an opportunity to flourish.”

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Women & Business

Remain focused, consistent to break the glass ceiling – Okonjo-Iweala charges WIMBIZ  

by Women Times on

It is still about Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) program held recently as part of the program,It was an interactive moment for learning and networking as they  (WIMBIZ) concluded its much anticipated 20th anniversary conference, which held at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos. The milestone conference, which was a hybrid conversation, was a two-day programme with the theme “Celebrating Legacy”.

Industry leaders and professionals in various fields led discussions on their personal life journeys, as and how they were able to challenge the status quo when nobody else could, and succeeded. The conference featured different topics at different sessions.

The keynote speaker, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), while delivering her speech, revealed that it was a different life for her moving from the rural area to the University, having lived in the village with her grandmother, going to the farm and helping her with house chores.

According to her, people are afraid to take risk because they do not know what lies ahead on the other side. The WTO DG encouraged women to remain focused, adding that consistency remains the only way to break the glass ceiling effect. Mrs. Okonjo-iweala noted that her hope and dream is to see when references or mantras such as ‘first female minister, or first CEO’ and many others will no longer exist, with women taking their rightful positions. The former finance minister said this can only be possible when individuals build self confidence in themselves.

“Don’t try to be anyone else. When you try to be somebody else, you don’t bring out the best in yourself. Remember to be simple, you can move through the glass ceiling effect.”

Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, Chairperson, Executive Council, WIMBIZ Head Coverage, on her part, noted that the way in which WIMBIZ has been delivering her mandate for the last 20 years has been nothing short of phenomenal. These were inspiring stories of women, who despite the various challenges surrounding their lives and businesses, were able to pull through to arrive at an enduring legacy that has stood the test of time, making them pacesetters and leaders for others to emulate.

She revealed that, over the last 20 years, the non-profit organization has impacted over 217,000 women through various empowerment programs which are geared towards building an enduring future.

“WIMBIZ has been lauded for debunking the mantra that women do not work together for the good of women,” she said.

Another speaker, Princess Funlayo Okeowo, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, FAE Limited, shared a secret on how she was able to build a business empire left by her mother, quietly, consistently and sustainably.

According to her, it was a business her mother had harnessed for 44 years before her demise, and today, the same business has also flourished with her for 33 years.

The seasoned entrepreneur said: “Building an enduring legacy requires catching them young. We mothers should not have fear of losing control. We need to look at corporate governance by paying our children salary when they work to encourage them. She also asked entrepreneurs to create their own niche in any business segment they operate to be able to build a lasting legacy, as well as building partnership and having in-depth knowledge of the business.

“Create your own niche, do something that nobody is doing, because if you are not uniquely creative, you will remain in one spot. Create something that nobody has ever done that addresses a need within a society, people will definitely come to look for you. “

Maher Jarmakani, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Jagal Group, pointed out that what his business empire enjoys today was as a result of the legacy his late father built over the years through resilience and family values. He reaffirmed that for business to flourish to an enduring position, there is need for rewards, accountability of cash flows, and identification of customers and also building relationship with customers.

“Managing legacy in family business or even in corporate is a very tough thing to do. Not many companies can last 20years or more, and that takes very strong set of values, dedicated team of management and those with long term view of success.”

The 20th anniversary conference featured about 50 speakers leading the conversation on different topics, as they will be building on the successes of previous conferences and push the envelope by challenging women to break stereotypes and brave uncharted territories in emerging markets.

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Women & BusinessCareerEntrepreneurWomen of Substance

Folorunsho Alakija: From a middle-class home to becoming Nigeria’s richest woman

by Women Times on

Hardly would you find a list of Nigeria’s richest entrepreneurs without the name – Folorunsho Alakija popping up. Several rankings have acclaimed her to be the richest woman in Nigeria, and the 2020 list of Africa’s Billionaires places her at 20th position in Africa. Though most public knowledge attributes her wealth to her interests in the oil sector, Alakija also has interests in other sectors like fashion and real estate.

She was born on July 15, 1951, to Chief L.A. Ogbara, of Ikorodu, Lagos State. It was quite a large family and Folorunsho had lots of siblings.

She started her nursery schooling at Our Ladies of Apostles, Lagos from 1955 to 1958, and at the age of seven, she travelled to the United Kingdom to attend Dinorben School for Girls in Harfodunos Hall, Llangernyw, Wales. She returned to Nigeria in 1963 for her secondary education in Sagamu, Ogun state before returning again to London for her Secretarial studies at Pitman’s Central College.

At the time, it was quite commonplace for females to opt to study along the secretarial lines, Tourism and hospitality or Fashion designing. In addition to her Secretarial studies, Folorunsho went to the American College, London and the Central School of Fashion for a degree in Fashion Designing.

Now qualified as a secretary and fashion designer, Folorunsho returned to Nigeria to work. She started out as an Executive Secretary at Sijuade Enterprises in Lagos, in 1974. Next, she worked as the Executive Secretary to the Managing Director with First National Bank of Chicago, which was renamed FinBank and later acquired by First City Monument Bank (FCMB). Briefly, she held the position of Office Assistant to the Treasury Department, and Head of the Corporate Affairs Department.

After spending some years in banking, Folorunsho decided to start her fashion design company, Supreme Stitches. She worked hard at it to set the brand in motion, and the name was later changed to Rose of Sharon House of Fashion.

Later, in September 1991, FAMFA Oil Limited was incorporated and in 1993, Alakija was granted an Oil Prospecting License (OPL) on OPL 216, a 617,000-acre oil block located in the Agbami Field of the central Niger Delta.

Three years later, she entered a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Texaco). She went on to appoint Star Deep Water as technical adviser for the exploration of her license and transferred 40% of her 100% stake to the company. Star Deep ceded 8% of the 40% to Petrobras, thus bringing in even more players. It was no surprise, therefore, that they succeeded in their exploration and soon grew to become one of the largest indigenous exporters of crude oil in Nigeria.

Alakija dived into other interests like printing and real estate. The Rose of Sharon Group consists of The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions Limited, Digital Reality Prints Limited and Famfa Oil Limited where she is the Executive Vice-Chairman. Her real estate interests are in the DaySpring Property Development Company, where she has majority stakes.

Alakija had a bone to pick with the FG
After some years of exploring, they struck oil in the OPL 216. As soon as the news went public, the government swooped in and snatched a 40% stake, and soon after, another 10% stakes of the oil bloc. The argument from the government was that if they allowed Alakija keep all those shares, they could be making as much as $10 million daily. For more than a decade, Folorunso Alakija fought the government in court, refusing to let it go.

“We felt like it was unfair. We had taken the sole risk and invested everything we had in the business. It had become a family business. We spent six years as a family to ensure this worked out and now that it was bearing fruit. They just stepped in and took away everything we had struggled and worked extremely hard for. I said to myself, ‘Folorunsho Alakija does not give up, my husband does not give up and my children do not give up’” she later said of it.

In the end, they won the case and got back the stakes from the government.

Recognitions and philanthropic gestures
In 2015, Forbes listed Mrs Alakija as the second most powerful woman in Africa and the 86th most powerful woman in the world. She was also ranked as the richest woman in Nigeria with a net worth of about $1 billion as of 2020.

She has received no less than 8 Honorary Degree Awards from Universities in Nigeria and the United States of America, the most recent being the one she received from Benson Idahosa University, Benin City on the 17th of July 2021. She became the first female chancellor in Nigeria in 2016 when she was appointed Chancellor of Osun State University in March 2016.

The Rose of Sharon Foundation is one of the avenues through which Alakija helps and empowers widows and orphans through scholarships and business grants. Folorunso Alakija is also the sponsor of the Agbami Medical and Engineering Scholarship Scheme, where over 1000 beneficiaries are awarded scholarships annually. She has also donated a skills acquisition centre to the Yaba College of Technology.

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Women & BusinessOpportunities

Crown Flour Mill Empowers Women Farmers

by Women Times on

As part of its ongoing strategic investment drive to support Nigeria’s food production self-sufficiency and food security aspirations, and its short to medium term value chain developmental efforts aimed at raising the current local production levels of wheat in the country, Crown Flour Mill (CFM) Limited, a leading flour milling business, has provided farming irrigation equipment to some female wheat farmers in Kano state.

 

The irrigation equipment is meant to assist the female smallholder wheat farmers and ultimately enhance their productivity levels. The irrigation equipment comprising mainly of a high-pressure water pumping machine, were formally presented to the female farmers at a ceremony held on Monday, August 16, 2021 in Giyamusu, Ajingi LGA of the state.

 

The realization of the productivity potential of women smallholder farmers in the country has largely been constrained by poor access to land and farming tools, especially irrigation equipment. Access to modern irrigation infrastructure on the farms boosts the yield of crops. Meanwhile, wheat crops yield higher returns when properly irrigated. The presentation of the pumping machines to the women smallholder farmers marked a needed upturn in women farmers’ aspiration to scale as well as support and meaningfully contribute to the ongoing Federal Government agricultural development programmes.

 

The recipients of the farming irrigation equipment are Lauratu Kassim, a 40-year-old wheat farmer with three years wheat farming experience, Maryam Ahmad, who has been practicing crop cultivation for many years but went fully into wheat farming four years ago and Atika Shuaibu, another 40-year-old female farmer who started wheat farming two years ago. Shuaibu owns a very big farm where she plants rice and other crops and a wheat farm, but has no pumping machine for irrigation. Hasiya Muhammad, who has had to rely on her husband’s farming equipment to sustain operations on her farmland, and 40-year-old Liti Audu are the other beneficiaries of the farming infrastructure support.

 

Special guest at the presentation of the irrigation equipment to the female farmers, the Executive Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Umar Ganduje, ably represented by Hon. Faruk Sule Garo (Senior Special Adviser, Youth Empowerment), appreciated and applauded the effort of CFM in empowering women and investing in the agricultural sector which helps in ensuring the livelihood of millions of Nigerians and in boosting the economy of our country.

 

Speaking about the intervention, Rauda Musa Umar, Wheat Development Programme Officer, CFM, said the organisation is committed to assisting the Government achieve its food security and economic diversification agenda.

According to her, “We will keep providing the necessary farming support and modern agronomic capacity-building training to local wheat farmers to boost wheat farming practices and yields in the country. Our focus, of course, is food security and improving livelihoods.”

 

Dr. Salim Saleh President Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria, said, “The various intervention programmes implemented by Crown Flour Mill Limited are laudable. The presentation of these farming equipment to our women will go a long way to boost the women farmers’ productivity and raise the economic contribution levels of the women.”

“Let me seize this opportunity to encourage other corporate organisations and well-meaning Nigerians, especially those operating in the agric value chain, to emulate Crown Flour Mill Limited in developing and boldly executing impactful agricultural development programmes that will reverberate across the local landscape,” he added.

 

Atika Shuaibu, who spoke on behalf of the other women smallholder farmers, expressed her appreciation for the delivery of the irrigation facility.

 

She said, “I am so, so happy to receive the machine. With the irrigation machine, most of us will stop hiring pumping machines to water our crops. We will also have a bigger and better harvest. I thank Crown Flour Mill for this assistance.”

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TrendingAppointmentCareerWomen & BusinessWomen of Substance

Dona Tobin: Omnicom’s DDB new Global Chief Marketing Officer

by Women Times on

Dona Tobin has been appointed as  the new Global Chief Marketing Officer of Omnicom’s DDB Worldwide.

In her new role, she will be reporting directly to Global CEO Marty O’Halloran. Tobin will oversee all global and North America internal and external corporate communications, including brand management, media relations, corporate social responsibility and cultural communications.

O’Halloran said: “We are thrilled to have Donna joining DDB to help shape our global narrative and connect our refreshed vision with the wider market. Her diversified background and unique understanding of both brand marketing and the advertising agency landscape will be invaluable to our organisation as we invest more in the DDB brand moving forward.”

Tobin brings to her role a diverse set of skills and over 20 years of agency and brand experience in marketing and advertising. Tobin has worked within and led global agencies such as Arnold Worldwide, Grey and VaynerMedia and has extensive experience running global brands and leading marketing, communications, and product development across industries including food and beverage, fashion and toys at companies such as Ocean Spray, Hasbro and WPP’s Kantar.

Most recently she was the EVP of Marketing, Communications, Events and Partnerships at the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) where she led the organization’s new vision, mission, marketing and communications strategies, and the re-imagination of the 4A’s virtual thought leadership events. Tobin’s expansive background in the marketing and communications landscape will inform her approach to this new role.

While speaking on her new appointment, Tobin said: “I am extremely excited to be joining DDB Worldwide during this time of cultural and creative transformation under Marty’s and Ari Weiss’ leadership. I’ve always admired DDB’s incredible creative legacy and am honored to be a part of the continuously innovative path forward with such amazing, super talented global teams.”

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TrendingCareerWomen & BusinessWomen of Substance

Leo Burnett promotes Chaka Sobhani to global chief creative officer

by Women Times on

Global creative powerhouse, Leo Burnett, has announced the promotion of creative amazon, Chaka Sobhani to global chief creative officer.

Representing Leo Burnett on a global stage, Sobhani will be responsible for evolving the Publicis Groupe network’s creative standards, as well as recruiting and growing the next generation of creative talent, with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

She replaces Liz Taylor, who is leaving the agency two years after joining from FCB. Sobhani kicked off her creative career as a comedy and performance writer, previously working at Fox before setting up ITV’s first in-house creative agency, ITV Creative.

She joined Mother in 2013, where she spent three years, before becoming Leo Burnett London’s chief creative officer.

Commenting on her new role, Sobhani stated, “I’ve been very lucky and I genuinely feel really grateful. I went from a decade in broadcast, interned at Mother and started getting my head around advertising, but I would never have thought 20 years ago that I was gonna end up in a global role.”

Continuing, Sobhani said that Leo’s London offices have continued to “go from strength to strength”, winning new work, including TUI, Premier Inn and Vision Express, and creating “ideas that truly connect with people across the nation and genuinely make them feel something”.

She added: “I’ve worked with really amazing people who I’ve learned so much stuff from, and I want to be in a place with really good human beings who share the same human values as me – people who want to take their jobs very seriously but don’t take themselves so seriously, and build a culture and a place where people genuinely look forward to coming into work. “I feel part of something, I feel very lucky.” Sobhani was named as one of the UK’s top creatives of last year and she is set to be a jury member for 2021’s Cannes Lions.

Andrew Swinand, Chief Executive of Leo Burnett USA, added: “I am very proud and excited that Chaka will be taking on the role of global CCO for our network. Chaka puts the ‘human’ in HumanKind – you can feel it in every part of her work and her tireless dedication to championing and including diverse voices and people in our industry.”

Swinand continued: “Chaka’s pride in our brand is immense, as is her passion for breakthrough creative and enduring client relationships. “She’s a cultural titan in every sense and a ‘Burnetter’ through and through.”

Last month, Emily Marr – Sobhani’s former workmate at Mother returned to Leo’s after 14 years in the newly created role of chief production officer.

Source: Marketing Edge Online

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AppointmentWomen & Business

Omobola Johnson Bags Guinness Board Chair

by Women Times on

Women are going places. Congratulations to Dr. Omobola Johnson as Guinness Nigeria appointed her as the Board Chair to replace Mr. Babatunde Savage, as he retires.

Dr. Omobola Johnson, the founder of WIMBIZ Women in Management, Business and Public Service and also the first Nigerian Minister of Communication & Technology is privileged to also serve the Guinness Nigeria Board with effect from the 1st of July 2021.
Mr Savage in his letter of retirement notification to the Board,in accordance with applicable corporation Governance regulation, commended the board for the opportunity to serve and to be a part of the wonderful Guinness Nigeria story over the last four decades.
He also appreciated the board of Guinness Nigeria and Diageo UK for the privilege to have served in many capacities, first as an employee who held various strategic senior roles, then as an Executive Director and later the Chair of the Board, a role he has held for twelve years of progress and eventful. ” After almost 40 amazing years, like every good thing, my journey with Guinness Nigeria is coming to an end and this is my time to exit this stage.” He said
Mr O’Keeffe who is also the Chair of the Nominations, Governance & Remunerations Committee on the appointment of Dr Omobola Johnson as Savage’s successor said ” We are pleased to have Dr Omobola Johnson as our incoming Board Chair, especially because of the value and insight she has brought since her appointment as an Independent Non-Executive Director and more recently as the Chair of the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee of the Board and member of the Nomination, Governance and Remuneration Committee in the last three years”
Dr Omobola Johnson being a serving member of the Guinness Nigeria Board has had over 30 years experience both in the private and Public sectors of the Nigerians Economy.
Commending on her appointment, the former Country Managing Director for Accenture currently Senior Partner of TLCom Capital, a technology Venture capital firm focused on Africa said” Guinness Nigeria an excellent company with tremendous amount of money value Creation opportunities, and maximizing shareholder value.”
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Women & Business

PwC’s Family Business Survey 2020 – Why Family Businesses Need to Act Now to Protect Their Legacy Tomorrow

by Women Times on

Leading professional services firm, PwC, has released its 10th global bi-annual survey of family business owners, which reveals the current thinking and outlook of 2801 family business leaders across 87 territories including Nigeria.

Family businesses are essential to the success of the global economy, responsible for half of the global GDP and employment: the largest 750 alone have combined revenues of $9 trillion a year and employ more than 30 million people. They helped the world reboot after the financial crisis; they need to be strong to do it again after COVID-19 and provide the legacy they want.

It will surprise no one that family business is the most trusted form of business (Edelman trust barometer – 2019 family business 67% vs. publicly owned 58%). That they have been more resilient may come as a surprise to those outside of family businesses. Only 21% needed to seek outside capital to weather the pandemic in 2020. The survey suggests that family businesses have weathered the pandemic relatively well

Growth and the Sustainability agenda

While more than half (55%) of respondents saw the potential for their business to lead on sustainability, only 37% have a defined strategy in place. European and American businesses are lagging their Asian counterparts in their commitment to prioritising sustainability in their strategy. 79% of respondents in mainland China and 78% in Japan reported ‘putting sustainability at the heart of everything we do’ compared to 23% of US, 39% in the UK and 16% in Nigeria. Larger businesses and those owned by later generations also buck the trend, with greater focus on sustainability.

This reluctance to embrace sustainability comes despite the fact that family owned businesses are highly likely to see a responsibility to society. Over 80% engage in proactive social responsibility activity, and 71% sought to retain as many staff as possible during the pandemic. Nor is it a function of economic pessimism – less than half (46%) expect sales to fall despite the pandemic and survey respondents felt optimistic about their business’ abilities to withstand and continue to grow in 2021 and 2022.

Instead, the issue is an increasingly out-of-date conception of how businesses should respond to society, with 76% in the US and 60% in the UK placing greater emphasis on their direct contribution, often through philanthropic initiatives, rather than through a strategic approach to Environmental Social Governance (ESG) matters. Family businesses are also somewhat insulated from the investor pressure that is currently pushing public companies to put ESG at the heart of their long-term plans for commercial success.

 

Peter Englisch, global family business leader at PwC says,

Family businesses globally have a strong commitment to a wider social purpose. But there is a growing pressure from customers, lenders, shareholders and even employees, to demonstrate a meaningful impact around sustainability and wider ESG issues. Many listed companies have started to respond but this survey indicates that family businesses have a more traditional approach to social contribution.

‘Family businesses must adapt to changing expectations and, by failing to do so, are creating a potential business risk. This is not just about stating a commitment to doing good but setting meaningful targets and reporting that demonstrate a clear sense of their values and purpose when it comes to helping economies and societies build back better.’

Family business lagging on digital transformation

Even though 80% of family businesses adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by enabling home working for employees, there are also concerns about their overall strength when it comes to digital transformation.

62% of respondents described their digital capabilities as ‘not strong,’ with a further 19% describing it as a work in progress.

Yet here, there are clear generational differences: 41% of businesses that describe themselves as digitally strong are 3rd or 4th generation, and Next Gens have taken an increased role in 46% of digitally strong businesses.

What are the trends for Family Businesses in Nigeria?

The key priorities facing Nigerian family businesses are somewhat different to the global trends which reflects the market condition. Over the next two years Nigerian family businesses are introducing new products/services, rethinking/changing/adapting their business models, expanding into new markets/client segments, improving digital capabilities and increasing the use of new technologies.

This means whole scale transformations are the order of the day. However, they could benefit by thinking strategically. This could include:

a)    finding new markets for existing products especially with a better understanding of how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement can help;

b)    radically rethinking business models – for instance how can we serve international clients using Nigerian brains sitting in Nigeria;

c)    how we can be structured to ensure we build lasting businesses that defy changing generations and provide the much-needed stability to over 60% of the Nigerian economy. These range from governance, tax efficiencies and great indices on the financials; and

d)    how can we leverage technology especially digital capabilities. Only 40% feel they have strong digital capabilities in Nigeria.

The sustainability meter

91% of Nigerian family businesses engage in some form of social responsibility activities. In the main, this tends to involve contribution to the local community or traditional forms of philanthropy. There is much to be learnt from global trends of social impact investing and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing, which is where the world has moved on to, forcing more outcome focussed social investing. This is an area that the Nigerian market is starting to take an interest in.

The governance gap

While family businesses report good levels of trust, transparency and communication, the survey highlights the benefits of a professional governance structure. While 79% say they have some form of governance procedure or policy in place, the figures fall dramatically when it comes to important areas: just over a quarter state they have a family constitution or protocol, while only 15% have established conflict resolution mechanisms.

These issues will be sure to be on the agenda of all family businesses as there are growing concerns from regulators around the world about family businesses and the individuals who have the ultimate ownership.

Esiri Agbeyi, Lead for Family Business and Private Client Services Nigeria says,

‘Nigerian Family Businesses have had a challenging year – but rewarding as well. They have had to face tremendous headwinds with the currency issues and stock market fluctuations in addition to the pandemic. Growth is slowly returning to the market. We have seen how they have stepped in with their generous support of the communities during the pandemic.

The families are thinking about how to protect their legacy and getting the NextGen upskilled to be able to professionalise their organisations. The NextGen are also the ones to bring in a more evidence-based approach both for the business and philanthropy as well as leverage technology and digital trends. The time to act is now if family businesses want to keep their legacy for future generations. 

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Women & Business

Eight Reasons It’s Looking Good For Women On Boards

by Women Times on

By: Sheila Goldgrab

People’s minds are changing. There is a lot of positivity, and optimism is building. I hear it from women seeking to join a board, who are ready to benefit from change.

We all know about the low numbers of women on boards, and it is, in a word, terrible. In Canada, only 17% of all board seats of TSX-listed companies are held by women. In the US, it’s 23%. Numbers for women of color remain even lower.

Yet, there are reasons to be hopeful about the future. Here are eight of them.

Qualifications are broadening.

Executives have traditionally been the pipeline for boards, and the underrepresentation of women in CEO roles and in corporate finance has carried over to the gender imbalance in the boardroom.

Although the emphasis on boards has been on the financial side, more boards have become open to bringing in Chiefs of Marketing, Legal, Strategy, or Technology who may not yet have board experience. That’s good for women.

Women are ready earlier.

It used to be that women waited until much later in their careers to pursue board roles. They weren’t ready to take on board responsibilities until later in their life, when they had more personal time and more life and work experiences to add value. Many women are more confident than before that they have what it takes at a younger age.

Transparency is becoming an imperative.

California requires public companies based in the state to have female directors and has exceeded the rest of the country in numbers since, despite the fact that the statute is facing constitutional challenges.

In Canada, Ontario’s Security Commission has spent five years disclosing the number of women on boards in a comply-or-explain policy, although strengthening the rules has been stymied by politics. States and provincial regulators have increased the visibility of the problem and raised expectations and hopes. That’s a good thing.

Pushback: Investors are asking questions.

The current environment of economic and social change has prompted companies, investors, and consumers who are in pain to ask questions of the people at the top. They’re demanding to know who the board members are and whether the board is diverse and inclusive enough to leverage new ways of thinking in this climate.

Pension funds and investment banks, for example, are being asked to explain why they don’t have a woman on their board. Aren’t there women executives in the industry qualified to serve on a board? Not even in parallel industries? Are there no women who have board experience? Displeased with the answers, they’re demanding change.

Women are better at getting heard.

Is there anyone reading this with an active interest in having more women on boards who has not heard stories of dysfunctional dynamics where there is only one woman director on an otherwise all-male board? Women are used to being interrupted, talked over, and having others claim their ideas. A single woman on a board hasn’t necessarily resulted in her voice being heard. It can take several women for diversity dividends to be appreciated.

Now things are changing. Women are aware that they are judged differently when they stand up for themselves and have learned the lessons of how to be heard while winning respect and admiration.

Kamala Harris provided a master class in the 2020 vice presidential debate on how, when interrupted, to stand your ground. Women know what to do when it happens. And men are becoming more skilled at being good allies, too.

More women-owned businesses.

More women are starting businesses and are seeking out other women for their boards, because the consumer of their service or product is female, their venture is cause-based and of interest mostly to women, or they are motivated to do what they can to weave diversity, equity, and inclusion into the fabric of the company, including gender equity. Women helping other women thrive in business is an uplifting narrative and is becoming more common.

Want ad: No unicorns required.

When getting ready to fill an open seat, boards prepare matrices of what they are looking for. Yet when you look closely, the traditional selection process has designed out most women.

Proposing specifics that are impossible to meet disadvantages outsiders. Searching for a unicorn means that the candidate pool is very small, with the usual suspects filling the spots. The argument is that women don’t have a pipeline problem; it’s unrealistic expectations that are at fault.

Boards that have traditionally taken a bet on those they know well and trust are now being encouraged to open up opportunities to diverse candidates.

Match-ups and mash-ups.

The Fourth Floor is an organization that brings female founders together with those seeking to serve on a board. Many board roles are filled that way. They also make it far easier to find a woman director keen to mentor others who are new to board work. And there are more databases created that are searchable in partnership with The Boardlist.

Everyone who is a board director was once one for the first time. Boards would be well served if they asked who they believe in enough to champion others with qualifying skills and experience.

Revising the selection process will give many more women an opportunity, and in turn, correct the lopsided imbalances that can diversify corporate leadership. There’s a lot of optimism right now. Let’s see where this goes. I’m cheering it on.

Sheila Goldgrab is a seasoned award-winning executive coach and owner of Goldgrab Leadership, a boutique leadership development firm with signature services. She runs Habit Labs for companies to advance women leaders in the pipeline, and Give & Get to diversify networks.

 

 

 

 

Credit: Forbes

 

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