Caleb University Don Leads International Scholars to Durban, S/Africa, to Combat Global Business Failure
By Olawale Adekoya
Prof. Olalekan Usiobaifo Asikhia, Caleb University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation, Strategy and Administration) leads other International scholars at the ongoing International Conference on Global Business Rescue and Resilience, South Africa.
Prof. Asikhia, a Professor of Business, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, who started his academic sojourn with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry–Biostatistics, has the rare privilege of bagging two Masters’s degrees (Economics and Business Administration), as well as two Doctoral degrees (Doctor of Business Leadership-Marketing and Strategic Management; and Doctor of Philosophy-Entrepreneurial Management).
The Research Professor and Grant Winner, delivered a Paper on ‘Business Resilience Determinants and Performance of Small Medium Enterprises, at the Conference. Globally acclaimed for its timeliness and strategic importance, the Paper aims to develop a strategy for curbing the persistent failure of Small Businesses in Africa, taking a cue from Nigeria.
In his speech, the Scholar noted that “organisational factors like effective proactive management skills, flexible organisational structure, marketing and environmental scanning skills; must be developed to stem business failure”. Apart from that, Prof Asikhia chaired a session on Management and Business Resilience in Africa.
Ranking Business Rescue members in attendance were Prof. Olalekan Asikhia, DVC (Research, Innovation, Strategy and Administration, Caleb University, Lagos; DVC University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa; as well as Prof. Naeem, Dean, School of Accounting, Finance and Economics, University of Kwazulu
The attendees also included left to right, Prof Olalekan Asikhia; Prof Rams Rajam, Professor of Accounting and Finance and Coordinator of the Business Rescue Unit, University of Kwazulu Natal; Professor Sina Yekini, Professor of Accounting, University of Derby, United Kingdom.
Among others, the fundamental objective of the Conference is to address, curb and proffer solutions to the alarming rate of business failure in Africa, ranging from three months to five years across nations the Continent.
The need to put together a team across nations of the world to assist stem this dangerous trend necessitated a congregation of the brightest Business Scholars to brainstorm in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, for a diverse presentation on the way forward.
Tagged “International Conference on Business Resilience, Continuity and Regeneration”, the Rescue Team at the International Conference also considers the need for intensive diagnostic tools and processes that will rightly identify the different degrees of ailments bedevilling different organisations, before attempting a prescription.
“Consequently, the concept will not be “one method solves all”. This becomes important in the light of environmental dynamism in which businesses operate from one country to the other. The outbreak of COVID-19 and the concomitant failures of businesses across nations of the world showed that several firms were not proactive enough to predict their environments and reconfigure resources and capabilities to arrest the plunge.
Expectedly, the conference made an assertive statement on the need for continuous monitoring of the business environment and business operations flexibility
