By Rosemary Iwunze

Cyber risks, political risks and violence, as well as macroeconomic developments have been identified as top three risks that could slow down businesses in Nigeria in 2022.

This was contained in the 11th Allianz survey known as the ‘Allianz Risk Barometer 2022.’

According to the survey, cyber perils are the biggest concern for companies in Nigeria, South Africa, Africa, Middle East, and worldwide in 2022.

The report stated: “The threat of ransomware attacks, data breaches or major IT outages worries companies even more than business and supply chain disruption, natural disasters or the Covid-19 pandemic, all of which have heavily affected firms in the past year.

READ ALSO: Cyber, political risks top concerns in Nigeria — Report

“Globally, cyber incidents tops the Allianz Risk Barometer for only the second time in the survey’s history (44% of responses), business interruption drops to a close second (42%) and natural catastrophes ranks third (25%), up from sixth in 2021. Climate change climbs to its highest-ever ranking of sixth (17%, up from ninth), while pandemic outbreak drops to fourth (22%).”

Speaking on the report, CEO of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, AGCS, Joachim Mueller said: “’Business interrupted’ will likely remain the key underlying risk theme in 2022. For most companies the biggest fear is not being able to produce their products or deliver their services. 2021 saw unprecedented levels of disruption, caused by various triggers. Crippling cyber-attacks, the supply chain impact from many climate change-related weather events, as well as pandemic-related manufacturing problems and transport bottlenecks wreaked havoc. “This year only promises a gradual easing of the situation, although further Covid-19-related problems cannot be ruled out. Building resilience against the many causes of business interruption is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage for companies.”

The report further noted that political risks and violence and changes in legislation and regulation are rising concerns for businesses in Nigeria. Political risks and violence moved from fifth to second following #EndSars in 2020 while changes in legislation and regulation moves up four places to fourth in the country.

“Fortunately, large scale terrorism events have declined drastically in the last five years. However, the number, scale and duration of riots and protests in the last two years are staggering and we have seen businesses suffering significant losses,” says Bjoern Reusswig, Head of Global Political Violence and Hostile Environment Solutions at AGCS.

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