Mr Joseph Siaw Agyapong, the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, has admonished business owners to prioritise the sustainability of their businesses by investing in future-proof innovations.
Speaking at a five-day Jospong Leadership Conference on the theme: “Driving Business Excellence through Innovation, Sustainability and Empowerment,” he said putting the sustainability of the business first was a major driving force for growth and success.
Mr Agyapong stated that business owners ought to be innovative to foster a culture of creativity that encouraged employees to propose new ideas and solutions.
“We need to appreciate that being innovative must involve various sectors of the company, including drivers and cleaners in decision making, because their views and ideas are also paramount to the success of the business.
“If you look down on people, you will never be a very good innovative and sustainable person,” he said.
Mr Agyapong maintained that sustainability was not just a corporate responsibility but a strategic advantage, stressing that companies must strategically associate themselves with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or risk being lost and cut off.
He said the Jospong Group operated across various sectors but with specialisation in sanitation and waste management, and played a significant role in contributing towards the achievement of 13 of the 17 SDGs
He urged companies to ensure the continuous empowerment of their employees to become highly effective and innovative, for the sustainable improvement of their businesses.
Granting employees authority, autonomy and resources improved decision making which contributed to the company’s success, he noted.
He emphasised the importance of practicing sustainability because it “often leads to reduced resource consumption, lower energy cost and minimised waste which can translate into significant cost savings over time.”
Mr Eric Seddy Kutortse, the Executive Chairman of the First Sky Group of Companies, said it was important for businesses in Ghana to be sustained because the private sector contributed about 70 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employed around 87 per cent of the population.
“The government sector employs only about 800,000 of the population but it is chocked and so by all means we must guide and guard our private sector,” he stated.
He encouraged business owners to design succession plans to ensure the sustainability of their businesses, observing that only about five per cent of businesses in Ghana survived before the end of the first generation.
He also urged business owners to focus on how their businesses would last and not how much profit they made.
Mr Baba Mahama, the President of the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International, said employees must be the first focus for companies and not customers.
He said companies must prioritise the wages of employees rather than fraudulently enriching themselves.
