The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and top bank chief executives have charged businesses to leverage technology to improve productivity and positively impact the nation\u2019s economy.
\nThey spoke at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) maiden conference and exhibition with the theme: \u201cFast Tracking Productivity- Leveraging Technology\u201d on Tuesday in Lagos.
\nMrs Bisi Adeyemi, President, NBCC, stressed the imperative of technology in driving productivity, especially in view\u00a0of the current realities propelled by COVID-19 pandemic.
\nShe said that the conference, whiah would be biannual, afforded businesses the opportunity to showcase their brands and foster new partnerships.
\n\u201cThese businesses would also develop foreign market opportunities, which aligns with our cardinal objectives,\u201d she said.
\nDr Adesola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer, First Bank Group, said that technology\u00a0had entered an era of\u00a0digitalisation.
\nAdeduntan,\u00a0represented by Mr Ini Ebong, Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking, First Bank, said\u00a0new technologies were powering and providing attractive basis for business growth, innovation and differentiation.
\nHe noted that increasingly, both large and small businesses were leveraging modern technology to become agile and grow more efficiently.
\nThe CEO said that technology was powering business development in various ways, leading to enhanced business growth and profitability.
\nAdeduntan projected that the rise of frontier technologies promised to further impact and transform the dynamics of business.
\n\u201cOrganisations are leveraging technology to future proof their business through investments in talents, embracing e-commerce option and using analytics to draw insights.
\n\u201cBusinesses that will remain sustainable must have digital and online presence by creating e-commerce stores which may complement brick-and-mortar points of sale.
\n\u201cBusinesses will also need to leverage digital ecosystem partnerships to remain competitive,\u201d he said.
\nMr Lamin Manjang, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, said that the opportunities that had come with the adoption of digitalisation in the financial sector were enormous.
\nManjang was represented by\u00a0Head, Digital Banking and Financial Inclusion, Mr Adeyinka Shorungbe.
\nHe said that following the adoption of digitalisation, total retail account base grew by 200 per cent in two years and its revenue base for retail business increased by 300 per cent.
\n\u201cTechnology now allows us to acquire customers in all states, with an average of 9,000 new accounts opened monthly.
\n\u201cAlso, the bank\u2019s digital penetration is at 87 per cent, with increased efficiency, speed and quality, yet reduced cost,\u201d he said.
\nMr Olukayode Pitan, Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI) said that the bank would continue to play its role in fast tracking productivity through its various funding and advisory facilities.
\nPitan, represented by Mr Simon Aranonu, Executive Director, Large Enterprises, Bank of Industry, said that Nigeria, like many countries around the world, was not immune to the economic headwinds presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
\nThis, he said, made it essential for all non-oil sectors, particularly manufacturing, to boost productivity, create employment opportunities, and enable Nigeria to be more self sufficient (less import dependent).
\nHe described the manufacturing sector as the gateway to industrialisation through substantial forward and backward linkages with other sectors, providing a wealth of opportunities for suppliers, distributors and retailers.
\nHe stressed that with the introduction of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Nigeria must build its manufacturing sector towards it becoming the manufacturing hub for\u00a0West Africa and the rest of Africa.
\nPitan revealed that the BoI had successfully raised about $3.8bn from the international market in the last four years with some of the meetings and roadshows held virtually, leveraging technology.
\n\u201cBOI supports projects with potential developmental impact and the capability to generate considerable multiplier effects such as job creation, import substitution and poverty alleviation.
\n\u201cAll of which would have significant positive effects on the socio-economic condition of Nigerians, particularly in light of recent challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
\n\u201cBoI also sponsors Corporate Social Responsibility activities that provide technology solutions to businesses such as innovation hub across all states in Nigeria,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and top bank chief executives have charged businesses to leverage technology to improve productivity and positively impact the nation\u2019s economy. They spoke at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) maiden conference and exhibition with the theme: \u201cFast Tracking Productivity- Leveraging Technology\u201d on Tuesday in Lagos. Mrs Bisi Adeyemi, President, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-icttelecom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=290303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290308,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290303\/revisions\/290308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=290303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=290303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=290303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}