Oyinda Akanbi reckons that a finance business partner role a decade ago gave her her first real career break – and laid the foundation for everything she does today. ‘It really opened my eyes to a new world of finance as a strategic partner, providing financial insights that drive business sustainability,’ says the current CFO of Synlab Nigeria, a subsidiary of the international medical diagnostics group headquartered in Germany.
‘When I joined in 2021, Synlab Nigeria was doing phenomenally well and was highly regarded for excellence in the healthcare space,’ she recalls. ‘However, internally, finance was a big problem. There was high staff turnover, everything from receivables to statutory liability was literally a mess and, of course, it was up to me to turn things around.’
‘When I arrived, it was all paper and Excel – I love Excel but it was not fit for purpose’
Since joining the company she put into practice the lessons she had learned about the importance of thoroughly understanding a business, its customers and operations, walking the shop floor and communicating effectively with non-finance colleagues. Finance, she knew, could take a front seat, drive the conversation in the right direction, and challenge the business to really look at the numbers and make better long-term decisions.
Tech triumph
Pivotal to Akanbi’s success at Synlab has been the implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system – she’s a technology and automation advocate. The system has not only digitised processes and centralised documentation, but also brought greater interdepartmental connectivity and transparency across the business.
She says: ‘When I arrived, it was all paper and Excel. I love Excel but it was not fit for purpose – it’s fallible to human error and inaccuracy, and lacks an audit trail. The ERP system, on the other hand, has brought every department and every process into a centralised system where we have a visible flow from requisition and purchase ordering to invoicing, payments and reconciliation, as well as giving us an accurate real-time view of inventory levels and value.
‘ERP helps ensure the financials are accurate and show a true and fair view of the business’
‘That’s the beauty of ERP,’ Akanbi says. ‘It provides greater controls and helps ensure that the financials are accurate and show a true and fair view of the business.’ That financial truth has been a must-have since the parent group listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange just a few months before Akanbi joined the business.
Doctor dream
Until the age of 14, Akanbi had been convinced she’d become a doctor, specifically a paediatrician, because of her love of children. But that was until the reality of the years of intense study required for a career in medicine sunk in. ‘I just didn’t enjoy the prospect of that much reading,’ she says with a laugh. ‘I hated chemistry, but enjoyed biology and physics and all three subjects were required to get into medicine. My real love was maths, which is what eventually led me to a career in finance.’
CV
2021–present
CFO, Synlab Nigeria
2013–20
Finance business partner roles at Etisalat Nigeria, Syngenta Nigeria and then GBFoods, all in Nigeria
2005–11
Accountancy roles at SF Group, City of London and then Royal Connections, all in the UK
She spent six years gaining foundational accounting experience in the UK before returning home to Nigeria for that first finance business partner role at telecom business Etisalat. She had further business partnering roles in agribusiness and FMCG before becoming a healthcare CFO. ‘A large part of what I do is still strategic, providing guidance to help the business achieves its goals,’ she says, which in Synlab’s case involves helping healthcare in Nigeria move forward.
‘Finance is essentially the same everywhere – what differs is the peculiarities of each business’
It is now mainstream to see the full-on integration of finance across a business as pivotal to strategy, but it was a very new concept in Nigeria when Akanbi started at Etisalat. ‘Now, most companies understand the value of financial planning and analysis in driving growth and achieving objectives,’ she says.
Something big
Having worked in diverse industries – telecoms with Etisalat, agriculture with Syngenta and FMCG with GBFoods – she has found Synlab a very different proposition. ‘But I’m versatile!’ she adds. ‘I wanted to be part of something big, and Synlab is a leader in its field both here and in Europe. Also, on a more personal level, it’s in healthcare where I can make an impact beyond finance by actually touching people’s lives.’
She adds: ‘I’ll probably continue to move between industries. It keeps things exciting, and I subscribe to the philosophy that finance is essentially the same everywhere. What differs is the peculiarities of each business, such as its cost and revenue drivers. Once you understand these, you can really bring your finance expertise into play anywhere.
‘There’s purpose behind my work – it’s not just about making money’
‘Drawing on my experiences to help drive growth and enact little changes that actually make phenomenal impact is rewarding work. We’re developing partnerships with teaching hospitals, I’m doing investment appraisals for labs and collection points. There’s purpose behind my work. I’m running the numbers and trying to decide where we can have maximum impact. It’s not just about making money.’
Synlab in numbers
27,000+
Employees in 36 countries across four continents, including over 2,000 medical experts
450+
Laboratories
700+
Hospitals – as well as hundreds of thousands of referring medical practitioners and tens of millions of patients – that use Synlab
600m
Diagnostic tests performed each year
Economic crisis
Akanbi has ensured continued double-digit growth at Synlab Nigeria at a time when Nigeria is in the throes of an economic crisis that has pushed many businesses to the brink. With the lending rate at around 27%, inflation of almost 34% (October), and the currency worth less than half what it was a year ago, conditions are truly challenging.
‘It’s a crazy time to be doing business,’ she says. ‘And perhaps that’s our biggest achievement. We’re still growing at a double-digit pace year on year, still expanding, opening in teaching hospitals, looking for new neighbourhoods so we can reach more patients. We’re gearing up for more growth, in spite of everything.’
