Why Nigeria, local brands need market-creating innovation to survive —experts

No doubt, ‘innovation’ has become the buzzword in today’s marketing space.  Interestingly, the lecture series on entrepreneurship,  organised by the Nigeria-Britain Association (N-BA), in Lagos, recently,  as part of activities, marking the association’s golden jubilee anniversary, provided the opportunity to expand the frontiers of the  concept.

Experts, comprising individuals from within  the nation’s corporate world, and those from the diplomatic community, at  the event, believed innovation had become imperative at these perilous economic times for the country and even brands, plying their trades on her market space. They also believed such innovation must be market-creating, to enable it have the desired effects.

In other words, it should be such that identifies the needs in the market, and devise a means of better meeting such needs.

For instance, in his keynote address,  Mr Olusegun  Zaccheus argued that  market-creating innovation is needed to contend with  the ‘wicked problems’ the nation and her economy seem to be contending with, of late.

Zaccheus, a director at KPMG management consulting, argued that the growth  and success of Nigeria, as a whole, depend on  an innovation that should be disruptive and make life better for the people.

He identified the issues of unemployment, infrastructure decay and the increasing number of out-of-school children, as some of the ‘wicked problems’ that have continued to widen the gap between the potential of the country and her socio-economic realities.

“We have always been told that with a population of over 200 million people, and the abundant material resources at our disposal, Nigeria has the potential to be great. But we’ve not been able to achieve that because we are dealing with wicked problems, which if not addressed, might sound the death knell of our nationhood.

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“For instance, while we still struggle to have basic infrastructures and the number of our out -of -school children has continued to increase, the world has gone to a new level, leveraging technology to advance their cause.  And the challenge here is that we may be left behind if certain things are not done, and done on time,” he argued.

According to him, nations, individuals and brands, desirous of survival in this economy must be ready to innovate, stressing that innovation should not be seen as an entrepreneurship, but a lifeblood of the economy.

“It should be seen as the key to unlocking our productivity issue; since that has been the major challenge we are currently facing in the country. Productivity drives economic growth. We therefore need to address the productivity issue we are having through innovation.

“We need to invest in innovation. Every dollar or capital spent on innovation is capable of giving as much as 60 percent value. In Nigeria, it is capable of yielding more. It could yield as much as 200 per cent value. So we need to make such investment, so that  our  economy can move from  a two percent growth to six percent.

“For instance, the problems of port congestion still remain unresolved in the country, and it is taking its toll on businesses and  the nation’s economy.  But the question is: why are we not thinking of an innovative way of ensuring a seamless movement of the ship from the nation’s ports  to the market? Why are we not thinking of using technology to actually address this issue? If this is achieved, it would, without doubt, go a long way in enhancing productivity and the way we get things done,” he added.

Interestingly, for those who believe innovation will always come at a huge cost to the innovator, the KPMG  chieftain holds a contrary view.

“It does not necessarily need to be sophisticated, technology-based or magical to cause ‘disruption’ and achieve results,” he stated.

Citing the Indomie Noodles example, the keynote speaker stated that what the brand only did, years ago, was to look for a new market, in an environment where such menu was alien, establish in that market and dominate it.

“It’s on record that noodles  used to be an Asian menu before it was introduced in Nigeria, some years ago. And since its introduction,  the Indomie Noodle has continued to dominate the noodle  market and make its products a household name in Nigeria.

“Indomie, as a brand, was able to achieve that through a market –creating innovation. For instance, the technology behind it was not magical, what it only did was to identify the opportunities of introducing such food into an otherwise alien market,” he added.

He also stressed the need for the innovator to design the product or services in such a way that the local market remains its focus.

While acknowledging  the fact that Nigeria’s ecosystem is beginning to evolve, of late, especially with the exploits of Gokada, O’Pay and  farmcrowding in the nation’s transport and agricultural sectors, respectively,  Zaccheus however stressed the need to  continually deepen the ecosystem.

He also charged the government on the need to play its’ own role by coming up with policies  that  will support and drive innovation.

In his own remarks, the Chairman of Philips Consulting, Mr. Foluso Philips, believes innovation provides the opportunity for individuals, especially young people, and brands to get going in life.

“Innovation is something we don’t appreciate in this part of the world. Interestingly, it is all about creating the next level of customer convenience. For instance, as a brand, you should be able to think about how you can take a particular service or product to the next level of convenience for your customers. A brand, desirous of survival, must be thinking along this line,” the Philips Consulting boss stated.

In his remarks, the President of the association, Mr. Shola Tinubu, stated that the thematic focus of the event was  informed by the urgent need to contribute its own quota to the development of the nation’s economy.

He added that the association had begun to focus  more on the youth, to ensure  that they are better equipped and financially- independent  to take charge of their future.

The N-BA boss expressed the hope that the lecture would provide the needed platform for young Nigerians and budding enterpreneurs, in the country, the opportunity of listening and interacting  with the Keynote Speaker and other professionals at the event, as they shared their perspectives on the topical issue of innovation and how it could be deployed to drive the nation’s economy.

Tinubu also explained that the association was also using the opportunity of the event to install Chief Olabintan Famutimi as a new Vice Patron of the association.

According to him, the choice of the  Tricontinental Chairman, was obvious because of his unflinching support to the association’s cause.

 

Nigerian Tribune