By Henry Uche, Lagos
With the level of unprecedented socio-economic and political turbulence and heightened competition in the business world, the Managing Director, Remita Payment Systems Ltd, Deremi Atanda, has advised businesses to be circumspect while thinking to expand their businesses in the global scene.
Atanda who gave this advice while speaking in a panel on the topic ‘Should We Go Global, Making The Decision” said not every business is meant to go global, however, those businesses who think they must go, should first consider the pros and cons with the help of experts.
“Not everyone is permitted to go global. But if you must go, make sure you understand the market, be sure there is a need you want to meet, know the competitors, what value you are offering, understand the time and possess the right strategy”
With the theme: “Going Global: The World Is My Village” put together by boys to MEN Foundation the ICT expert maintained that Africa has great potential and skills and the world is looking for people locally who have the requisite skills to bring solutions to their business challenges. He added that for him, he remained auspicious that Remita would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that it provides payment solutions and other services to as many target markets as possible.
Other panellists at the session, Uju Uzo- Ojinnaka, Founder/CEO, Traders of Africa; and Aisha Bashir, Founder/CEO, Cam Dairies Ltd, stressed the need for risk assessment (challenges) and timing before one could swing globally. They posited that any business that ventures globally without conscientiously and painstakingly paying attention to due diligence would be swallowed by the giants in the market.
Moreover, every responsible business should ask itself, ‘How much value have I created and offered to my local community (my home country) before I decide to go global’?
They maintained that answers to: Why am I going global, when am I going global, and how am I going global as well as the challenges like language differences, regulation, cultural differences, policy and legal provisions among others must be provided by the decision maker.
Some experts have maintained that most businesses going global were not just expanding, but are entirely moving out of Nigeria to do business in other countries especially within the African region due to hostile economic environment stifling businesses, just like a majority of foreign business operators are leaving Nigeria for other countries because of unfriendly economic policies. The incoming government is expected to provide solutions to this state of affairs.