2021 Business Outlook Recap, Presentations and Videos

View this email in your browser

Dear  ,We had the virtual edition of our 2021 FATE Business Outlook last week with over 420 members of our Community in attendance. We sincerely appreciate everyone who took out time to join us and engage. If you missed the live event, here's the recap of what happened at the session including a link to the uploaded video of the session and the presentation materials from the speakers. We also shared some important announcements for our Alumni community after the Business Outlook session. 

Welcome Address by Executive Director - Adenike Adeyemi

The program was hosted by Adenike Adeyemi, our Executive Director who started by highlighting the growth of the community over the last one year and key initiatives the Foundation implemented in collaboration with the Alumni Executive Committee. She then ended by sharing the key theme for this year's Business Outlook - The macroeconomic outlook, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and resilience strategies that entrepreneurs can adapt in 2021.

The Macroeconomic Outlook: The 2021 Macroeconomic Outlook and Impact on Nigeria's Small and Growing businesses by Taiwo Oyedele, Partner, PwC

Taiwo shared his thoughts on the overview of the business economy; macroeconomic insights and its implications on small and growing businesses in 2021, and useful insights to consider. Here are few highlights from his discussion:Key Highlights of the 2020 Year and the 2021 Macroeconomic Outlook

• The Nigerian economy has been impacted by Covid-19, the pandemic, the economic lockdown and the recession.

• Heightened insecurity, protest, civil unrests and strikes also hampered productivity and output in critical sectors and value chains in 2020.

• The oil price outlook is currently clouded by Covid-19 induced uncertainties.

• The costs of doing business is expected to remain high and even increase in the course of 2021.

• Budget funding and implementation challenges likely to persist as there is more spending, lower revenue, sale of public assets, deficits.

• Exchange rate expected to further depreciate, with closer gaps between windows and likely convergence with commitment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and pressure from the World Bank.

• The Finance Act 2020 will have key impacts on Auto policy, Airlines, MSMEs, Unclaimed funds, Agriculture, Fiscal responsibility & procurement reforms and

• The new Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and the XBRL adoption is set to improve ease of doing business.

 Key Strategies for MSME Entrepreneurs to Consider

• Health and safety first approach for entrepreneurs and their teams.

• Explore tax efficiency strategies by taking advantage of key provisions and reliefs in the Finance Act 2020 such as Minimum wage exemption, education tax exemption, reduced import duty and levy on vehicles and Incentives for agricultural business.

• Leverage changes in CAMA 2020.

• Explore adaptive use of technology that can improve business operations and efficiency and

• Be at the forefront of understanding key policy changes particular those relevant to sectors they operate in.

The AfCFTA: Opportunities for Nigerian MSMEs by Yewande Sadiku, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is focused on trade liberalisation across Africa and it provides for progressive elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers and development and promotion of regional and continental value chains. The agreement is expected to encourage trade activities by removing tariffs of over 90% of goods traded between member countries.Here are few potential opportunities for Nigerian MSMEs

• Provides expanded market for Nigerian products and services.

• Ensures remedy actions against injurious practices by foreign companies and countries.

• Contributes to the formalization of operations in the informal sector.

• Enhances the potential for Nigeria's business growth and

• Creates opportunity for those in services sector to serve the rest of Africa.

 How Entrepreneurs Can Take Advantage of the AfCFTA: 

• Most countries including Nigeria are still detailing the plans to fully optimize the agreement so this is the time for entrepreneurs to take time to understand the elements of the AfCFTA and country strategy plans as they become expanded and available.

• Specifically, the benefits are more likely to be along industry/sector lines, so entrepreneurs should build their knowledge on specific provisions relative to their sectors and the benefits.

Resilience Strategies: How MSMEs can build resilience by Dr. Ola Brown, Founder Flying Doctors Investment Company

To build a Resilient Business, first start with building your mindset - Dr. Ola BrownDr. Ola shared that resilience is a skill that can be learned. Here are some resilience strategies for entrepreneurs:

• Focus on Market Size: Understanding the industry, knowing your market size and purchasing power of your target customers will serve as key foundational data to consider when developing strategies in building a resilient business.

• Take a global perspective: Tailor your product/services with a global audience in mind: if your immediate market does not have the effective demand for your product, identify the global market that has that demand and scale with them in mind.

•  Develop a growth strategy: Put together a growth strategy looking at either Vertical growth (i.e. expanding products/services into new markets) which can involve developing a new market or penetrating an existing market) or a Horizontal Growth (which involves scaling products/services within an existing market).

•  Look after your mental health: Connect with friends, coaches, mentors, peer-groups and mastermind groups, as they can be helpful in building a resilient mindset.

Key Strategies to Support FATE Alumni in 2021

The  FATE Alumni Executive Committee represented by the President, Max Menkiti; General Secretary, Ngozi Okonkwo; Treasurer, Bukola Baruwa; and PRO, Clara Okoro shared key programmes for the members of the FATE Alumni community mainly:

• Creation of Sector Working Groups: Led by Co-Chairs also from the Alumni community, this is to foster learning, exchange and collaboration among Alumni members across key industry groups such as Fashion, Agriculture, Hospitality, Education etc. Details of this including the joining links will be shared in a separate announcement coming out in February. 

• The Business Recovery Programme: Designed to help FATE Alumni build resilience during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Key focus areas are:

  • Resilience Building Workshops

  • Digital Transformation Workshop

  • Remote Consulting & Advisory

  • Virtual Community Building

  • Funding Linkages

This programme is FREE for all FATE Alumni and it is implemented virtually.  All FATE Alumni can take part in this programme by registering at www.fatefoundation.org/brp.

Fatai Olayemi