Sterling Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Abubakar Suleiman said gaps in Nigeria’s industrial support networks can delay business expansion, as companies may have to assemble suppliers, transport and staffing capacity themselves, BusinessDay reported Oct. 28.
BusinessDay reported that he blamed the delay on gaps in networks linking suppliers, logistics companies and skilled workers. When those connections are missing, firms may need to arrange the supporting capacity for an expansion while continuing to develop their main business.
“Things that ought to scale in six months will scale in six years,” Suleiman said, according to BusinessDay. He also cited limited funding and investors’ patience as constraints on businesses trying to sustain long expansion efforts.
That account places much of the organizational burden on companies: they have to bring workers, transport and supply capacity into place around a project before it can grow. BusinessDay reported that Suleiman described this as a challenge for firms seeking to scale in Nigeria.
As an illustrative example, he described a refinery project that might require a company to recruit 30,000 workers and operate 4,000 compressed natural gas trucks. Those figures were part of the scenario he presented, BusinessDay reported.
Suleiman also suggested that firms with related business needs could develop alongside one another. He cited a property developer and a block producer as a possible pairing, saying their joint planning could help meet project needs and industry standards, BusinessDay reported.
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) agenda lists Sterling Bank as host of the “Scaling that Works” breakfast session on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Its description says that expanding proven solutions requires better coordination, financing and execution.
The agenda also lists a design workshop titled “Building Integrated Industrial Ecosystems.” NESG said its focus includes fragmented production, low value added and weak domestic supply chains.
The 32nd summit was scheduled for Oct. 26-27 at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, with a theme centered on jobs, productivity and shared prosperity.
