COOPERATIVE societies have been urged to embrace digital solutions in the administration of their operations in order to stay relevant, reduce cost, and maintain competitive advantage in the face of economic challenges and restrictions brought about by the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
The call was made by IT Lead, Chams Plc, John Atomode, during the 2020 Annual Seminar and Training for Cooperative Societies in Lagos State.
Atomode, who presented VOTA, a digital voting platform, to leaders of cooperative societies who attended the annual event, emphasised that the future is digital as the world experiences a COVID-19-led disruption that inspires a transformation from a traditionally-led business process to digital adaptation.
Admonishing cooperative societies in Lagos to embrace electronic voting for their periodic election of officers into key administrative positions, Atomode stated that digital voting system simplifies and maintains the integrity of polling process, saves cost and keeps everyone safe as there is no need for large gatherings of people in a physical location, which is being discouraged as officials battle to keep off a second wave of coronavirus in Nigeria.
“VOTA is an innovative way of simplifying our electioneering process, and now even with the current issues in the country, COVID-19 and other reasons that reduce our ability to congregate in large crowds. VOTA allows you to cast your votes for your organization from the comfort of your homes with any smart device, as long as that device can log on to the internet, you are able to cast your votes. It doesn’t have to be an expensive phone, iPhone or a Samsung S10. It only has to be a smart device that can connect to the internet,” Atomode explained.
In his remarks, the Director of Cooperatives in Lagos State, Babajide Bakare, advised that to survive during and after crisis period, stakeholders must adhere to cooperative principles and values, and be innovative for its continuous existence. “Cooperative societies must build emergency funds – raising of share capital, increasing minimum savings by members, invest in this slow down period by investing in technology and human development capacity,” he said.
Bakare, who further emphasized the use of technology and digital tools for sustainability of the organizational processes, emphasised that executives must consult regularly, reach out to members and device a way of effective communication with the aid of technology such as Zoom to conduct webinars. This year’s annual seminar and training for cooperative societies in Lagos State, which lasted for three days, focused on increasing investment in banking, agriculture, oil and gas, transportation and other critical business sectors.
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