Toyin Olufon, a consultant and the founder of Lefort Consulting Limited is advocating for Nigerian businesses to become data-driven to enable them to scale and compete globally.
According to her, data analytics is important because it helps businesses to optimise their performances and it is believed that implementing it into a business model can help companies reduce costs.
With data, businesses can understand their customers, personalise their content and improve their bottom line, she said. The statement “data is king” sums up the significance of data and the gains it holds for businesses.
But its many advantages cannot be accessed without the proper data analytics tools and processes. Consequently, Toyin, who is also a finance professional, is trying to help businesses become data-driven through her consulting firm, Lefort Consulting Limited.
Lefort Consulting is a tech-driven professional service provider in the area of accounting and data analytics, business, finance, and tax advisory services.
Toyin, as the principal consultant, and through her leadership, the company has gained a high level of acceptance and has been opportune to provide value-adding services to major corporate international and indigenous organizations, resulting in a fast-growing client base.
Drawing from her huge experience in dealing with businesses, she said the way businesses currently operate has changed drastically.
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Data, according to her, is the major driving force. Hence, there is a need to empower businesses in Nigeria to become data-driven.
She asserts that data-driving will enable businesses to compete at a global level, and make informed decisions based on facts and data, rather than emotions-driving decisions.
Lefort has positioned itself to help businesses leverage data for growth.
“We’re on a mission to raise 1000 data-driving businesses,” she said. “That’s a superpower that businesses must have and we’re here to help them achieve that.”
Toyin as a finance expert has trained about three thousand entrepreneurs and corporate employees across Nigeria and preferred qualitative professional advice to several clients across diverse areas of industry.
In 2019, she went on a tour, speaking to businesses across 12 states in Nigeria. Commenting on government support towards the survival of SMEs from that position, she said business owners only require a conducive environment to do business.
According to her, a ‘conducive environment’ has to do with security, effective and efficient transportation, and most importantly, a stable economy.
She explained that the volatility of the foreign exchange has upset a lot of businesses, adding that the instability in the economy is a phenomenon that is unsettling businesses.
“What they want is a stable environment. If they (government) can do that, I’m sure businesses will be more successful and happier,” Toyin told BusinessDay.
Lefort Consulting has been able to save about USD 200million for its clients through different service offerings available to businesses.
Beyond just consulting, the company is also empowering and raising tech-savvy finance professionals through practical learning, shared knowledge, and mentorship through its Techy Accountant initiative. The community has about a thousand finance professionals from different parts of the world, including Hong Kong and the US.
Further explaining the impact of the organisation, she told BusinessDay that it has, through Tech Accountant, been able to provide jobs to a lot of finance professionals.
She has worked as a consultant to the World Bank, Security and Exchange Commission, and presently a consultant to Clinton Health Access Initiative.
She is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (United Kingdom) and Associate Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ACA), and also a certified Digital Innovation expert in Finance (ACCA).
She admonished businesses to be consistent irrespective of the circumstances or business challenges they are faced with. This is premised on her belief that challenges are determining factors to whether a business will succeed or fail.
“It’s very important that you’re consistent,” she said. “I know it’s quite challenging out there, but if you don’t give up, you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
