Metaphors Matter: Thriving in the Ecosystem
Reem El Sherif
‘Innovative businesses can’t evolve in a vacuum. They must attract resources of all sorts, drawing on capital, partners, suppliers and customers to create cooperative networks,’ said James Moore over 20 years ago. Natural ecosystems as a business metaphor is ever more relevant in the contemporary dynamic and competitive business environment, amidst the speed of digitisation. In ecosystems, an organised community from random elements, in this case different companies, is developed that allows all units to compete and collaborate, co-exists and co-evolve. The exchange of value between a company with its direct and indirect stakeholders allows it to achieve sustainable growth.
Researchers and strategists often note technology as the key enabler in realising the potential of business ecosystems. Digitisation allows for seamless integration and information flows between the various units in an ecosystem. Banks’ digital innovation, like mobile apps and global platforms, have facilitated the flow of value in an ecosystem, from the most informal supplier to the largest mine. As the aggregator in an ecosystem, banks have a bird’s eye view of an economy. They have a vital role to play in connecting the various players in an ecosystem. The days in which banks were purely built on the basis of channelling funds will cease to exist. Rather, banks will channel value. The SPIRE and HOPE initiatives by FirstRand South Africa and FirstRand Namibia respectively, are concrete examples of how organizations are able to unlock potential from various partners and networks to assist governments and other ecosystem players during the COVID-19 pandemic.
No doubt, technology just makes life easier. But digitisation may come with isolation. Does technology detract from value exchanged by normal human interaction? A simple conversation over coffee between a company executive and a client can contain a lot of value. As Krugman (1991)[1] puts it, ‘knowledge flows are invisible, they leave no paper trail’. No amount of technology patents and licences can hold the same significant knowledge as the human mind. For a business ecosystem to thrive, the natural exchange of tacit knowledge through human capital becomes critical to achieve the full potential of ecosystems. While the current COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many businesses’ digital transformation journeys, it allowed us to respect value exchanged through human interaction.
African countries that are becoming less dependent on extractive industries are placing more emphasis on the creation of ecosystems through local linkages. By developing relationships with local suppliers, distributors and even competitors and public offices, companies can transmit and exchange managerial and technical know-how. Whilst African countries reach admirable levels of digitisation, human capital becomes the key channel of knowledge and wisdom diffusion within the ecosystem. More so, banks, as the connectors, can facilitate the creation of linkages.
By achieving this, we contribute to the sustainable growth of individual businesses but also the overall economic wellbeing. In order for ecosystems to succeed, a huge paradigm shift is required. Rather than bottom-line thinking, one must now think more in terms of the soil and air that create the foundation for healthy earnings.
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Reem El Sherif is Strategy and Business Development Manager at RMB Namibia.
[1] Krugman, P.R., 1991. Geography and trade. MIT press.
