Go digital or go extinct

This post is written by Aforfem Ngozi Afobunor, Project Officer (Research Lead), UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth.

• The problem: A lack of digital infrastructures that support businesses.
• Why it matters: Digitally flexible businesses have proven to be more sustainable in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The solution: Training and re-training of business support personnel in the digital ecosystem.

In the wake of 2020, small and medium-size businesses collapsed as the Covid-19 pandemic rocked the world. It has been over two years since it began and so many businesses are yet to fully recover from the uproar of the lockdown policy of governments and restrictions as a continuous measure to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Preparing for the future

There are speculations by scientists and scholars that the pandemic might take a different aspect and calls for the government to take proactive measures should there be a fifth wave. It is therefore a necessity that businesses align their strategy and activities with the health and wellbeing realities of our time. As seen during the pandemic, some businesses were able to move their effort virtually; it was easy for some industries to adopt technological tools to their advantage while others closed shop.

I for example launched a business in 2020, a media company. The initial plan was to publish a physical magazine for distribution and thereafter launch a podcast and media literacy programme. What was supposed to destroy a company in infantry became a blessing in disguise: as the pandemic took effect our initial plan was reviewed, and the reverse became the case. But I was able to navigate these challenges by re-evaluating the business strategy and financial resources available. I and Aforson Afobunor, PMP who is a co-founder at Aforfemist Media Limited, adapted our work model to reflect the current reality. First, we moved to a fully digital media company. This meant all work, including the product launch, recruitment, meetings, and procurements, was done online.

Digital skills in practice

After the onboarding phases of our new recruits, we were faced with a different challenge: most of them didn’t know how to use digital tools. It wasn’t that we didn’t mention it as a prerequisite in the job application, but due to the excitement of having these twenty-something-year-olds work with us we only took a cursory look into their digital skills in practice, and we later paid the price for it by having to invite an IT expert to train them to be able to use the resources on our website. Fast forward to the future and before the end of 2020 more than half of them had resigned, citing different reasons, from lack of power to slow internet, sick parents, etc.

Being a life-long learner helps. You will need to upskill in most cases, just like I did.

Following this learning experience, in January 2021 we attempted to recruit new sets of digitally competent individuals who were available to work on a freelance basis, but unfortunately, the cost of hiring them was double the cost of running our digital space, so we did not follow through. Since then we have learned to balance our workflow and empower young adults in podcast literacy (our strength) to proliferate the digital ecosystem with skills that will support other businesses as well as ours because we now understand that digital training is a lacuna that must be filled in the digital business and it’s either you go digital, or you go extinct. 

Actionable tips

These experiences have taught me to be proactive and not reactive. Therefore here are some learning points for businesses looking to join the digital ecosystem:

• Being a life-long learner helps. You will need to upskill in most cases, just like I did. As a member of the European Broadcasting Union, I took new courses to better serve our audience.
• Never over-capitalise your business in its infantry until you have understood all the pros and cons of your digital space. It helps to collaborate with other businesses to aid with support personnel.
• During recruitment, it is important to ask prospective employees if they have supplementary sources of power (electricity) and the speed of their internet connection. This way you are better prepared for eventualities that may arise.

I hope that you can internalise our own learning experience in a bid not to go extinct, but do not forget to relax, enjoy the evolution and avoid burnout - you will need to learn to ask for help.

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(Image Credit: Unsplash)