Businesses urged to turn risk into competitive advantage

Institute of Risk Management Zambia (IRMZA) Executive Director, Francis Ziba, has said businesses should stop viewing risk solely as a threat but instead embrace it as a source of innovation, resilience and long-term growth.

Speaking in Lusaka on Thursday at the EIRS Risk Intelligence Forum held at Radison blu hotel, Ziba urged organisations to integrate enterprise risk management into their strategic planning, warning that companies that fail to anticipate emerging risks risk being left behind in an increasingly uncertain global environment.

Ziba said global challenges such as exchange rate volatility, climate change, energy transition, fiscal pressures, regulatory reforms and cybercrime were reshaping the operating environment for businesses, with many of these risks originating beyond Zambia’s borders.

“Every risk creates an opportunity for organisations that are more resilient,” he said.

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He argued that that modern risk management should move beyond the traditional approach of merely avoiding threats and instead focus on identifying opportunities that arise from uncertainty.

Drawing lessons from the collapse of Lehman Brothers during the global financial crisis, Ziba argued that organisational culture, leadership and governance were just as important as technical risk management systems.
“Risk management should be embedded in strategy rather than treated as a compliance exercise,” he said.

Locally, he noted that digitalisation had expanded the reach of financial institutions, while investments in renewable energy and predictive maintenance were helping businesses in the mining and energy sectors become more resilient.

He also warned that cyber security had become critical for maintaining customer trust, particularly in the telecommunications and financial services sectors.

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