Inability to identify enterprise risks and lack of preparedness to deal with them, is said to have contributed to a number of corporate failures thereby retarding growth of the country’s economy.
Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC) Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Lipunga was speaking when he opened a two day enterprise risk management training in Blantyre organized by Ferm Continental.
He emphasized the need for institutional capacity in identifying early warning signs about the prevalence of risks, understanding their nature and measuring their impact.
“Success and growth of an economy is dependent on the ability of management to create value and growth, as a country, Malawi needs investors who are ready to finance and manage enterprise risks,” he said.
He said boards of directors have the ultimate responsibility for the level of risks taken by their enterprises as they approve overall business strategies and significant policies.
“We have a lot of giant corporations that have been brought to their knees because they didn’t anticipate change of demand, change of technology and never took into account changes in the regulatory and legal environment, as entrepreneurs we need to make plans for all this,” noted Lipunga.
Lyton Chithambo, lead consultant for Ferm Continental who is also Group Risk Manager for Press Corporation Limited, said they aim at empowering the market with skills and knowledge so that it gets familiar with emerging trends in risk management.
“Risk management is dynamic, interactive and responsive to change so we want the country’s entrepreneurs to move with time,” said Chithambo.
Ferm Continental has hired Madhu Acharyya, a lecture in risk management from Glasgow School for Business and Society in London to lead the training which has attracted participants from the country’s corporate sector, including banks.
