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By Henry Uche
The institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) has decry the weakness in structure among Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria following their inability to weather the storms brought about by global pandemic.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the Institute’s 2020 public Lecture on the theme, “Survival of MSMEs During Uncertain Times: Is Corporate Governance a Luxury or Necessity” the Registrar/CEO of the institute, Mrs Taiwo Ganiyat Olusesi, said COVD-19 has exposed the fact that Nigeria has a plethora of weak MSMEs with business models that are not resilient enough to withstand shocks like Covid- 19 pandemic.
According to the Registrar, available data shows that the negative impact of COVID-19 on MSMEs was unprecedented, noting that 94% of the MSMEs in Nigeria were reported to have been impacted by the pandemic; out of which; 82% reported decreased sales while 49% lamented difficulty accessing inputs.
Olusesi added that 84% of firms were reported reducing their production volumes, 44% reported difficulties in paying staff as a result of the pandemic, while 50% of MSMEs in food and agriculture businesses closed their operations temporarily with significant sustainability fears.
She posited, “A good number of businesses, especially in this sector have closed down as a result of debilitating challenges foisted by the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic. It is apparent that most of the businesses did not put systems in place to curtail sudden crisis like COVID-19.
“These shocks have exposed a few critical truths about the fragility of our food ecosystem as evinced by poor grain reserves and national emergency response mechanisms, limited support for vulnerable populations and weak engagement mechanisms of social safety nets. Other illustrations of this poor state of our food sufficiency are absence of credible data on food markets, areas of overabundance /shortages and vulnerable populations etc,”
She charged corporate organizations to “innovate or die” as the mantra for survival is which underscores the imperative for businesses to keep exploring opportunities that lurk in the crisis through creative innovations as well as uphold the principles of corporate governance.
“Stakeholders in this present generations including entrepreneurs and Corporate Governance professionals should endeavor to make a paradigm shift from the mindset of “Accepting what we cannot change” to “Changing what we cannot accept” by striving to be the agents of change rather than passively reconciling themselves with the inauspicious status quo.
“Every business must take time to reflect and strategize on what its focus should be in the post-COVID-19 era in terms of continued relevance of their goods and services, capacity to operate competitively and sustainaby against the background of the new normal foisted by the pandemic” she maintained.
She urged MSMEs to desist from pernicious practices like engagement of human resources on sentimental grounds; recruiting family members without recourse to merit or sourcing of supplies from acquaintances in defiance of value-for-money consideration as such practices are antithetical to sustainability.
She reiterated ICSAN’s resolve to continue to be the guiding light by driving the conversation with all stakeholders, including; the government, regulatory agencies, companies and other organizations with advocacy and issuance of directives and guidelines on how the operators and regulators in the economy can navigate the troubled waters during present and post COVID-19 era.
