Taxation & regulatory uncertainties, geopolitical factors among issues affecting businesses – ECOWAS Bank President

The President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for
Investment and Development (EBID), Dr George Agyekum Donkor, has noted that businesses are currently operating in a fast-paced world.

He says that the world is currently characterised by constant change on the back of dynamic factors such as the macroeconomy, business conduct, consumer preferences, third-party operational risks, the environment, natural disasters, geopolitical factors, health issues, government policies and regulations, employee dispositions, just to mention a few.

Change, he added,  also occurs with new ideas, technology and innovation, some of which, unfortunately, become obsolete just when they are being churned out.

Dr Donkor made this statement 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 said ” Innovations that we thought were transformational and could revolutionise our way of life and the conduct of business have been replaced by more efficient and robust ones over time. This is emblematic of a fast-paced environment and the constant quest for solutions to our everyday challenges – and, as we all know, innovation is borne out of this necessity.

“Just as the world has evolved, so has the world of business, spurred by the very same factors that make the world tick. Innovation has taken centre stage in business, helping simplify hitherto complicated processes, allowing for the rapid generation and sharing of ideas, and fostering the development of quick solutions to problems.”

To cope, he added, “many businesses have adopted fluid organisational structures, introducing a high degree of flexibility into their modus operandi, in a bid to build resilience and responsiveness to the needs of their stakeholders.

“Furthermore, environment, social and governance (ESG) issues have become front and centre in our current dispensation and discourse. Thus, businesses that seek to remain relevant now and in the future concern themselves with how they can fulfil their mandate while maintaining environmental consciousness and social sensitivity and deploying the most efficient, effective and sustainable governance framework possible.”

That said, he further stated, businesses face a myriad of uncertainties.

“From taxation and regulatory uncertainties, geopolitical factors, supply chain disruptions to disruptive technologies, just to name a few, the future of business is as unpredictable as innovation itself,” he intimated.

Dr Donkor explained that businesses that survive are those that learn to position themselves ahead of the curve or, at worst, make a conscious effort to keep up with the trends, including ESG issues.

“That is how you build a future-ready organisation. Future readiness does not happen in a vacuum. It entails a conscious effort towards adapting to current trends while standing ready for anticipated and unanticipated future events. It must be stated, however, that preparedness for organisational future readiness cannot be de-linked from the quality of leadership. In other words, it takes a transformational leader to drive an organisation into a state of being future-ready.”

Dr George Agyekum Donkor 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.