Akin Monehin warns: Resilience is the new currency

Corporate strategist Akin Monehin has urged small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to embed resilience into their operations, warning that growth alone is no longer enough to survive in today’s volatile business environment.

Speaking at the BusinessDay Top 100 SME Awards, Monehin said organizations must build systems that “absorb shocks and transform them into opportunities” amid shifting regulations, currency fluctuations, and workforce disruptions.

“Growth isn’t enough anymore,” he told a post-event media briefing. “We must embed flexibility into our org charts, skills frameworks, and career paths—because the world changes faster than any one business plan.”

Monehin, an energy sector executive known for business transformation and governance expertise, outlined alternative leadership models, including hybrid teams across regions to distribute risk, continuous up-skilling pathways to enable quick pivots, and digital-first mindsets that merge data with empathy in decision-making.

An audience member described his keynote as “a playbook” for resilience, noting it provided practical tools rather than abstract warnings.

During a fireside Q&A, Monehin discussed why many strategies fail and how leaders can stress-test their models to withstand disruption.

“This isn’t future theory—it’s modern business survival,” he said. “Teams must breathe, adapt, learn—and scale all at once.”