Business

Be resilient in the face of economic crisis – Businesses urged

Businesses have been asked to be resilient in the face of economic crisis, by seeing it as an opportunity to grow.

The Executive Chairman of AB & David Law, Mr David Ofosu-Dorte made the call at this year’s Stanford Seed Transformation Network (STN), Ghana Chapter’s annual flagship business and leadership conference in Accra on Friday.

The conference seeks to discuss how to leverage opportunities in the current economic climate to transform and grow businesses.

Under the theme ‘Growth opportunities within the crisis’, it brought together high-level executives and leaders across industries to discuss building resilient businesses by identifying opportunities during periods of economic crisis.

Mr Ofosu-Dorte, said businesses needed to stay true to their vision and mandate during times of crisis, saying “It is easy for business leaders and entrepreneurs to abandon the core vision and mandate of their business in their bid to survive crisis situations. The courage to stay true to your vision during crisis defines your business.”

The former CEO of Stanbic Bank, Dr Alhasan Andani, said “businesses and entrepreneurs should use crisis as an opportunity to grow and learn from their mistakes.”

He encouraged participants to pay attention to crisis situations, be receptive and adaptive, and work to evolve their business, taking into account the legal and regulatory framework.

“Businesses need to refine their strategies in light of changes in their markets,” he said.

The President of the STN- Ghana, Mrs Linda Yaa Ampah commended members of the Network for their resilience and ability to create and innovate in order to keep their businesses afloat during this time of economic uncertainty.

She bemoaned the current economic crisis and how it was affecting businesses in Ghana, saying “The Ghanaian business environment has become very challenging.”

“There is the generally high cost of doing business due to the continuous depreciation of the cedi, the rising cost of food and imports, a high debt burden, high inflation, high-interest rates and the rising cost of energy. These factors are expected to reduce growth in the short term due to the current global recession,” she added.

Mrs Ampah said the private sector could help Ghana’s economy grow if the government offered it the right conditions.

“Regulators and managers of the business environment need to follow the discussions at the conference and provide the conditions that would enable businesses to thrive and contribute even better to Ghana’s GDP by creating dignifying and fulfilling jobs for the youth,” she said.

Participants at the conference had the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals, gained new perspectives and practical strategies to upscale and transform businesses.

BY VIVIAN ARTHUR

Show More
Back to top button