Speakers at the annual flagship Business and Leadership conference organised by the Seed Transformation Network (STN) Ghana Chapter have unanimously called on Ghanaian businesses to confront changes in the business environment and ready themselves to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and opportunities available in the post COVID-19 era.

Mr. David Ofosu-Dorte, a Senior Partner at AB & David and a speaker at the conference reiterated the need for businesses to prepare for change, saying “Having the right mindset that recognizes the things we need to do to overcome the traditional mindset and approach to doing business, is critical for the success of future businesses.”

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tropical Cable and Conductor Ltd, Dr. Tony Oteng-Gyasi, said “change is a variable that is inevitable in every business environment”.

He, therefore, encouraged business leaders and entrepreneurs to pay attention to their environment, be receptive and adaptive, and work to resolves challenges that may negatively affect their business due to change.

“Businesses need to be aware of the change and identify the business opportunities that they present. Businesses that think and prepare for change, and have it engraved in their policies, survive best,” he stated.

Ms. Esther Cobbah, CEO of Stratcomm Africa, who spoke on scaling up in diverse cultures, noted that culture evolves as we find solutions to our life’s circumstances in our different social contexts.

“Businesses exist to serve people, and people, are located in the culture in which they operate. Business offerings are designed to meet human needs. A context analysis needs to be conducted to help understand the culture of the intended audience and how that can impact the operations of the business. There is, therefore, the need for businesses to have a clear communication strategy in place to support their operations and engagement with key stakeholders,” she added.

Mrs. Linda Yaa Ampah, President of the Stanford Seed Transformation Network, Ghana and Founder of Cadling Fashions and KAD Manufacturing LTD, in her welcome address, said the business environment has become and will become more challenging post COVID-19 with the coming into force of the AfCFTA, hence the need for business leaders and entrepreneurs to understand their environment will impact their businesses and find appropriate ways to manage them for growth.

“We can contribute to the growth of the Ghanaian economy if business leaders and entrepreneurs have the right knowledge, information, experience, and skills to face the new challenge that lies ahead.”

The Seed Network Business Conference is the Network’s flagship programme instituted to empower business leaders and entrepreneurs to scale and thrive in the face of challenges.

This year’s conference was streamed LIVE on Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was under the theme, “Embracing forced change within diverse cultures.”

The conference provided the platform for participants, who are business leaders and entrepreneurs to gain valuable insights from seasoned business leaders on how to leverage change to scale their business.