Entrepreneurs unveil recipes for coping with recession

The current economic recession in Nigeria has slowed down businesses and even led to the closure of many that were not able to cope with the attendant challenges.

This notwithstanding, there are some businesses that are able to weather the storm not because they have sufficient funds more than others but due to their innovative ability and strict adherence to the business processes.

Speaking on the development, the President, Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture, (PHCCIMA), and Chief Executive Office, Elshcon Nigeria Limited, Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, attributed the survival of his businesses to four critical steps taken.

According Otaji, who is also into real estate and healthcare services, the first step was the cutting of costs by dismissing some staff, reducing expenses, as contracts and clientele were bound to reduce as well as reviewing the operational systems and blocking identified leakages.

He said: “We made the workers understand the current global economy and its implication, so we agreed that some staff, who are not very active should go while others do multiple tasks to keep the businesses going.”

He further said the business development unit had to think outside the box by changing some of its procedures, while also refusing to grant credit facilities to some clients to keep the businesses afloat.

“We also reduced our borrowing, due to the galloping in the exchange rate. One of our companies that had dollar denominated loan ran into a problem, but we have sorted that out,” he added.

Otaji expressed optimism that if the federal Government’s economic team reviewed the monetary and fiscal policies positively, and governments at all levels addressed the security challanges across the country, local investment would thrive and jobs created.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Vintage Farms, Mike Elechi, while complaining about the high cost of goods and services, pointed out that consistency and persistence enabled him to remain in business despite the downturn.