Innovation, key to SME success
Most, if not all operators of small and medium enterprises today, recognise that innovation is a vital ingredient in the success of their businesses. According to Peter Drucker, an American success coach, “Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service.”
Kofo Akinkugbe, chief executive, Secure ID, a relatively young firm creating MasterCard and Visa, operating in 16 African countries, is an example of a chief executive that is succeeding based on innovation. Speaking at a forum recently on innovation on the CEO’s agenda, Akinkugbe urged business owners to build capacity that will sustain the creativity, that is, developing the capacity of employees.
She however cautioned against engaging only family members, urging the need to employ people with untapped talents. “We need to create an environment that would drive creativity. Do not be afraid to test new things,” she said. Her company has succeeded by thinking ahead, developing a product that was not yet in demand at the time it was being developed. She added, “We must be creative, ensuring we are a step ahead of competition,” also stressing the need to make it a company policy to encourage employees to be creative and to track returns on investment based on staff creativity. She asked, “How effectively do you measure and track the returns on your investment. Does the way you innovate reflect your vision and appetite for innovation. Encourage staff to be innovative, do things innovatively.”
Chocolate City, a business started by Audu Maikori, a lawyer, is another example of innovation translating into huge success. Chocolate City is an entertainment company, branding and supporting the vision of entertainers and thrives by seizing new opportunities. For Maikori, innovation started with the choice of an innovative name for the company. Chocolate City is a name not many would have thought of giving an entertainment company promoting the brand of entertainers, but the name itself arrests attention. “You need to have a name that is compelling, that would catch attention,” Maikori said also, at a recent forum held in Lagos.
“The vision is yours, it may not make sense to others. Everybody said no but my soul and my feelings said yes,” he said, noting that “small businesses are up to the challenge. They are natural and continuous innovators.”
Domino Information Company Limited (DICL) was adjudged the 12th fastest growing business in Nigeria in an internationally recognised research carried out about a year ago on businesses. The company is reputed for its innovation, constantly developing information products for the use of managers in the public and private sector. Uzo Nduka, chief executive, DICL, noted that without innovation a small business cannot succeed perpetually.
Most small businesses, according to experts, are silent innovators, small business success hinges on innovation and is an important driver of economic growth. This innovation can be brought to virtually every aspect of businesses – in the food and confectionery business – companies constantly innovate, develop new things, or do old things in entirely different ways. The massive success being enjoyed by the Nigerian fashion industry is an off-shoot of innovation. Many stylists now combine African fabrics with those from advanced countries and the result – mass patronage within and outside the country.
By: OLUYINKA ALAWODE