It is becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to function without technology these days, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Dr George Agyekum Donkor has said.
He attributed this to the enhanced interconnectivity and efficiencythat technology brings to businesses. Technology, he noted, is an enabler to business, but technology is not static.
In that regard, he suggested, businesses must keep up with new technological trends which enhance both the efficiency and effectiveness of business, so as not to be left behind.
“Future-ready businesses are amenable to adopting not just any technology, but futureready technology to enhance their operations, improve customerexperience and stay ahead of the competition.
“Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come to stay. Future-ready organisations will explore ways of embedding AI into their operations to enhance productivity. However, it is important to bring talent along with every technology adoption, given that they will aid its functionality.
“The organisation should not make employees believe that they are in competition with technology. Technology may be the future of business, but people must be inserted into the functionality of technology,” Dr Donkor said in his keynote address at the Future-Ready Leadership Summit organised by the Nobel Business International School (NIBS) on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Accra, Ghana.
He further called on business leaders to position themselves to adapt to any future eventualities, drawing from recent global events.
According to him, the back-to-back external shocks, that started with the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the war in Ukraine and the recent one in Gaza, as well as domestic shocks have shaken the very foundations of most businesses across the globe.
“The supply chain disruptions-fuelled inflation that ensued particularly from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine led to food and energy price hikes unprecedented since 2008. As if that was not enough, the global monetary hikes triggered a surge in the cost of borrowing thereby increasing the financial and operating costs of several businesses”, Dr Donkor stated.
He emphasized the need for a two-pronged approach to future readiness, which entails anticipation of future scenarios and the incorporation of a high level of flexibility into a company’s organisational structure to facilitate timely reactions. He further called on businesses to invest in enhancing their compliance with Environmental Social Governance (ESG) requirements, which are essential for today’s financial market, while proactively using technology to improve their operations.
Underscoring the intentionality required to be ready for challenges both now and in the future, Dr Donkor explained that “it takes a transformational leader to drive an organisation into a state of being future-ready”.
The NIBS is the foremost African Doctoral Institution that offers top accredited degree programmes in partnership with prestigious international Universities namely SBS Swiss Business School, Zurich, Switzerland, and IPAG Business School, France.
The summit brought together leading scholars, high-level government officials, and prominent business leaders for discussions on how to build more impactful businesses while contributing to the overall development of the continent.