This year’s edition of the highly anticipated ‘Business Strategy Forum’ was held at the Holiday Inn Accra Airport last week. The event, which was on the theme: ‘V.U.C.A. Gaining Competitive Advantage in an Unstable Market’, garnered notable experts and participants from various industries gracing it.
The two-day forum was centred on ways organisations could capitalise on VUCA guidelines to remain relevant and stable in a turbulent market. Dr. Jeff Bassey, Management Consultant, Corporate Trainer, and Country Director of the HR Certification Centre, gave participants of the forum wonderful insights on leadership, and how business leaders could maximise that to enhance business growth.
He explained that there is no absolute in leadership, especially in such a volatile time as we find ourselves. “Too many of our companies are over-managed and under-led. Running an organisation involves leading people and managing systems,” he told the participants.
Robert Mensah of Eusbert Hotel was awe-inspired with the turn-out of corporate and business executives. As a participant, he took his turn to throw in relevant suggestions on how to engage employees to deliver the utmost results. He also emphasised the need for leaders to show appreciation to the employees and vice versa.
King Kojo Sarfo, Managing Director of Firstcode Management Services, facilitated the second session. Speaking on the need to build resilient enterprises in the Ghanaian business environment, he enlightened participants on the need to brace themselves for unforeseen circumstances that could bury businesses forever. Using the Ghanaian ecosystem as a case study, he peeled off the many layers of resilience, and how to better prepare for such occurrences.
A participant, Jeremiah Buabeng, CEO of Buabeng Communications and other enterprises highlighted the effect phenomena, such as inflation, have on businesses irrespective of the industry and sector. He commended the timeliness of speaking on such a topic as this.
Day two of the forum saw seasoned speakers from across different industries serving as panelists as they engaged participants on the topic: ‘People Management and Business Growth’. Moderated by Rev. Bernie Osei-Duah – a Change and Learning Development Consultant, Arnold Parker of Letshego; Florence Addo-Quaye of Prudential Bank; Jane Kitome of Allianz Life Insurance; Anne Ethel Komlaga of Enterprise Bureau; and David Tetteh of Fincap challenged and wowed the audience with time tested nuggets and ways to survive and grow as a business in these times. Their years of experience and expertise in various fields shone through as they answered each and every participant’s questions.
Ahead of the panel discussion, Emmanuel Deteah, Senior Business Advisor, Start-ups and Innovative Directorate from the Ghana Enterprise Agency, shared insightful nuggets on innovative opportunities for businesses.
Patrick Otieku-Boadu took the participants through the second session on the last day of the forum. Speaking on the topic: ‘Resilience Advantage’, he expounded on the need to declutter our space as we build resilience in our world. He explained that to create profit in our various enterprises, we need to focus more on compassion. He also revealed the need to take major decisions when one is calm. “In a turbulent and volatile world, we can only be resilient if we do not overcare,” he added.
Participants of the Business Strategy Forum 2022 expressed their delight over the thematic areas, experts who handled each session, and the environment to network across various industries and sectors.
The Business Strategy Forum is an initiative of Role Model Africa. Over the years, the organisation has built an admirable track record of gathering critical mass of business leaders and entrepreneurs through various platforms for personal and organisational growth. The organisation provides training and consultancy for various companies including SME’s and multinationals.
The 2022 edition of the Business Strategy Forum was sponsored by Lumière Creatif, Lucozade, Cowbel, Mx24, Sesil, Delcielo, Investment Times, Wear Purple Clothing & YA Cleaning Services.