COVID-19: SIFAX Group boss highlights recovery strategies for businesses

The Group Managing Director, SIFAX Group, Mr Adekunle Oyinloye, on Friday highlighted some recovery strategies for businesses to imbibe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oyinloye, in a statement in Lagos, said that for businesses to survive the current economic crunch due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a comprehensive review of business processes, operations as well as willingness to adapt to new realities would be key.

Reviewing the impacts of the pandemic in Nigeria, he said that the major hurdles businesses were facing include supply chain disruptions, inflation, hike in prices of goods and services.

He listed others as weakened consumer purchasing power, contracting economy and business collapse, especially among SMEs and high-risk corporations.

In the midst of the harsh operating environment, Oyinloye urged business owners to build resilience as a strategy to survive.

He said: ”It is not an all-gloom situation as many businesses will rise from the ashes of this pandemic to recover well and post impressive returns.

“There are opportunities even in bad situations, and so businesses just need to position themselves correctly for these opportunities.

“Ideas, processes and mindset that were useful pre-COVID-19 might become obsolete for businesses as we are gradually transiting to a new era and a new dawn.

“Some of the factors that I recommend at a time like this are critical thinking, new business processes and templates, improved technology adoption, identifying and embracing new business opportunities and ability to adapt and respond to changing business dynamics,” he said.

Oyinloye lauded the combined efforts of governments, both at the national and sub-national levels, corporates, development partners, health workers on the frontlines and other stakeholders in tackling the pandemic.

He said that such collaborative efforts would certainly help in containing the spread of the virus and better management of the fallouts.