DFI, experts task businesses on innovative strategies in recession

The Bank of Industry (BoI), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), as well as other experts have tasked small businesses on the need to explore innovative strategies as survival measures during recession.

According to the stakeholders, businesses need to deploy unusual strategies in running their enterprises if they want to stay afloat during recession.

Speaking at an SMEs forum organised by the bank last weekend, Regional Head, BoI, Obaro Osa disclosed that the bank plans to move its loan advances from $2.7 billion in 2014 to $5.4 billion in 2019 in order to drive home its mission statement.

He said: ‘‘it is imperative to know that BOI’s non-performing loan ratio is less than 4 per cent. Our mission is to transform Nigeria’s financial space by supporting the large, the medium and small scale in a bid to bring life to entrepreneurship”.

He noted that the bank hopes to expand its footprints from 15 state offices to 19 offices, revealing that it has a significant project for those in exports.

A marketing expert, Joy Akinlolu, admonished business owners to uphold the skill of clarity in high esteem in order to achieve maximum result.

He said that the short-cut to sales is clarity and there is utmost need to be clear in mind, adding that it is indispensable to also identify the exact type of consumers being targeted to achieve desired objective.

He identified some of the strategies out of recession saying, “identify your top five per cent and 20 per cent customers and focus your energy on them; handle every lead opportunity properly; offer your customers more services and more opportunities to do business with you; focus on NICHES; up-sell; implement; communicate more with your customer; don’t give up; rinse, repeat and profit”.

The Chief Promoter, Current Foams Industries & Chemical limited, Godwin Umeugoji lamented that Nigerians have business in mind, not in attitude and therefore advocated commitment, time-consciousness and hard work for smooth running of business in the country.