Frequent regulatory changes worry CEOs in Africa

By Macharia  Kamau

Chief executives of companies operating in the region are more worried about frequent changes in regulatory regimes in the respective countries that they operate in.

A study by technology firm IBM found out that African senior business executives are putting regulatory concerns and people skills before market, technology and macro-economic factors as their priorities over the next three to five years.

This is compared to CEOs from other parts of the world whose major worry is that senior officials within their companies – like the chief marketing officers and chief information officers (referred to as the C-suite leaders) – are out of touch with the needs of their customers.

“African CEOs also expect to see a bigger shift to partnering, primarily to increase value, build efficiency and grow their networks, leveraging relationships with other firms who share similar aspirations with their companies,” said the study released yesterday.

The study titled ‘The Customer-activated Enterprise’ was released in Nairobi for the first time in Africa.

“Our research with C-suite leaders over the past decade has shown that organisations have steadily shifted to embrace more open, collaborative and reciprocal models,” said Katharyn White, managing partner, Global Business Services, Central, Western, Eastern Africa.

 “Today, CEOs recognise that they can’t do it all alone. They’re opening up their organisations, breaking down barriers and actively engaging customers – providing customers a seat at the table to help shape their business model and strategy,”  she added.

The study is based on findings from face-to-face conversations with more than 4,000 CEOs, CMOs, CFOs, CIOs and other C-suite leaders from 70 countries and 20 industries worldwide.

According to the report, the executives also expect that over the next three to five years, they will drive more organisational openness than other senior executives around the world.