Illustrative picture of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)... [Credit: BusinessDay | X]
Small and medium-sized enterprises across Africa risk losing stability and collapsing under the weight of expansion if they fail to build strong operational structures.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nubi Consulting, Nsikan Ubi, said many growing businesses underestimate the importance of internal systems, often prioritising rapid expansion over organisational discipline.
She said this gap becomes more visible as firms move from early-stage operations into growth phases where complexity increases and informal processes begin to fail.
“Growth exposes weaknesses that are not visible at an early stage,” Ubi said. “When teams are small, informal systems can work. But as complexity increases, the absence of structure begins to affect execution and accountability.”
