Entrepreneurs, business owners, executives and emerging leaders gathered at the Capitol Hotel in Cocody Riviera Golf on Saturday, October 10, 2026, for a one-day workshop on business growth, career advancement, management performance and strategic leadership.

The programme was co-hosted by Principal Consultant at BUSLMA, Abraham Ofure Orukpe, who shared the platform with two Ivorian certified leadership and management consultants: Dr Daniel Kouakou, Executive Chairman of DK Global LLC and co-founder of Synergy Pharma, and Mamadou Guebre, Principal Consultant of Transform7 Consulting.

The workshop was built around a central question: how can individuals and businesses create, capture and protect value in a volatile and competitive environment?

Orukpe, an accountant, business management consultant and leadership coach with more than 16 years of experience, urged participants to move beyond activity and concentrate on measurable value creation. He said many organisations and professionals stay busy without becoming more productive, profitable or relevant.

He told participants that sustainable growth depends on distinguishing between three categories of activity. Value-creating activities, he said, improve quality, service delivery, customer experience, productivity and competence. Value-capturing activities convert that value into revenue, profit, promotion, opportunity or measurable return. Value-eroding activities, which include poor communication, missed deadlines, weak pricing, delays, rework, poor documentation, waste and lack of accountability, undermine both.

Orukpe condensed the framework into four principles: “Create value intentionally. Capture it professionally. Protect it deliberately. Measure it consistently.”

He also tied sustainable growth to three levers: structure, systems and strategy. According to Orukpe, structure clarifies roles and accountability, systems make execution consistent and repeatable, and strategy determines where people, resources and effort should be concentrated for the greatest impact.

The workshop also showcased cross-border collaboration among the three consultants. Dr Kouakou, an entrepreneur, author and international speaker, has more than 12 years of experience in leadership and organisational development. A Certified John Maxwell Leadership Coach and Consultant and former Maxwell Leadership faculty member, he has reached more than 100,000 people and supported more than 200 companies.

Guebre has more than 20 years of professional experience spanning consulting, aviation, advocacy, business, training and leadership. He currently heads air passenger experience advocacy across 67 countries in Africa and the Middle East, and advises business leaders, executives and entrepreneurs on leadership, organisational structuring and growth.

Together, the three consultants combined management consulting, leadership development, business growth and career strategy in a single programme, reinforcing a message that ran through the day: “Strong businesses do not only compete. They collaborate.”