A few days ago, I wrote, “Legends have it that most of the wealth displayed during the burial came through donations from men who Obi Cabana supported in their entrepreneurial journey. As I have written in Harvard Business Review, the Igbo Apprenticeship System remains a vehicle to accelerate wealth creation and insure a future. Obi Cubana is another case study.” I want to discuss that case study in this piece.

The Igbo Apprenticeship System is a business philosophy of shared prosperity where participants co-opetitively participate to attain organic economic equilibrium where accumulated market leverageable factors are constantly weighted and calibrated out, via dilution and surrendering of market share, enabling social resilience and formation of livable clusters, engineered by major participants funding their competitors, with success measured on quantifiable support to stakeholders, and not by absolute market dominance.

The Igbo Apprenticeship System is the Umunneoma Economics – and Obi Cubana is his recent interview and writing (see below) has provided new datasets on how the system works: “In 2013, I pushed 53 uneducated Oba boys into the market to learn trading. In 2017, I withdrew all of them from their Ogas and settled all of them with 3million Naira each and paid for their shops…In 2018, I took 100 educated men out of streets and introduced them to the white men for business and today there are billionaires …Yes, I will gift 1 million to 300 Oba boys to start up business and link them up too to make it. I have a lot of friends and associates and we are like brothers to each other. ” Check, that is a venture capital fund and private equity fund combined, except that he does not take equity!

Obi Cubana’s philosophy reminds me of Dr Nnorom Ukpabby, one of the finest men who ever lived in my Ovim (Abia state) community. The man was so loved that during catechism in the church, when people were asked to name their saviour, many said “Dr Ukpabby”. They failed the catechism and would return back to class, hoping next time they would pass the exam, to be admitted as full members of the Methodist Church.

Dr Ukpabby earned his PhD from the United States, returned back and became the first indigenous dean at UNN. He pushed his kinsmen to education and did all necessary to help them across Nigeria. After the old version of FLSCE (primary school), a town crier would go around, telling villagers that a truck would arrive from the city next week, and anyone with his standard six certificate should come to the village square. He mentored them, supported them, and turned boys into men. He was not a businessman but he ran a playbook that brought another dimension to community building. 

Obi Cubana’s umunneoma economics accelerates economic returns and the world has seen what it means to push for the rise of all, not just a few. While we do not want such displays of wealth, as it is not necessary, I want us to pick a lesson here: nations rise with the rise of ALL, and not just a few. Obi Cubana’s Oba community is rising not just because of him, but because others are arising with him. That is the ubuntu philosophy and that is the spirit behind the Igbo apprenticeship system. Focus on that – and avoid the noise!

Obi will modulate next time but let us not miss this important case study. In a different nation, researchers would have descended to Oba (Anambra state) to understand what he did to produce such an impact. But in Nigeria, it is to bring him down. Of course, he will return back to business and continue to push, putting all the distractions behind. He did not get to where he is now by listening to “noise”. But  I challenge him to modulate next time as Diobi, the palm wine–tapper, must not reveal everything he sees on the top of the palm tree, says the Igbo proverb.

—-Obi Cubana’s article and video—-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk4BYswQWb4

Change Nigeria

If Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are Nigerians, the Nigerian press would have crucified them for going to space when there are many hungry Nigerians on earth. But because they are whites, they are praising them as visionaries.  They will attack Dangote even when they praise American cities for giving Amazon HQ2 tax breaks. To thrive in Nigeria, filter the noise and stay focused. Obi Cubana shaped all; the nation did not even notice that bandits killed 13 policemen in Zamfara on Sunday. Success must not be a SIN in Nigeria!

INVEST IN HUMANS….

Obi Cubana Finally Speaks ?

“I want to state this clearly, I am not the talking type or Social media interest free person”
Obi Cubana; finally speaks.

“Many have questioned the type of boys and friends I have, to me, I hardly address anyone as my boy because we are all boys to God Almighty.

I don’t have any boy who is into rituals, if you are my boy or my man because I like to address my boys as my men, it means you are working hard and you made your money in a clean way.

In 2013, I pushed 53 uneducated Oba boys into the market to learn trading. In 2017, I withdrew all of them from their Ogas and settled all of them with 3million Naira each and paid for their shops.

I linked 40 of them into importation and made them use my name and platform to import goods into the country. After two years, I checked on them how they were doing and find out some had issues and I supported them again to stand.

I am happy today that out of the 53 men, 38 are billionaires while the rest are in the level of a millionaire. In 2018, I took 100 educated men out of streets and introduced them to the white men for business and today there are billionaires in dollars.

They also help me in their capacity when I require their help. All their friends both Nigeria and outside patronises me.

I am into hotel and club business and I have so many businesses I am brand ambassadors to.
I have alliance with spirit drinks and wines, I am brand to many businesses in the world.
It gives me joy to see my men do well, non of my hotel managers in Nigeria can small poverty, I encourage them to raise others from their local communities.

I have never sacked a worker due to misconduct, I bring you in and speak to you the way you will understand.
I have this understanding that we should allow the stubborn people to exist and cool headed people to exist and we make use of them when their needs arises.

I don’t believe in the supremacy of power rather I believe in the fare share of power and authority and allow everyone to feel belonged.

I have many uncountable people through my hotel business, I have encouraged many, I have made a lot of friends millionaires and billionaires because it gives me joy. Seeing them throw money around gives me happiness and they know, so anytime there are with me, they show such attitude of throwing money to please me.

Yes, I will gift 1 million to 300 Oba boys to start up business and link them up too to make it.
I have a lot of friends and associates and we are like brothers to each other. We love and encourage one another in good and bad as you have seen in my case that all of them came massively to support me.
Critics is normal and there are there to say what they want to say but when you are doing the right thing, you don’t listen to what people say. If I have my way, I will also help those criticising me.

A lot of non Obas will still benefit from me because I am still in the business of making people great.
Cubana chief priest is my man and he is a jolly fellow. People mistake him for me, I am Obi Kubana and he is my Chief priest I hope you understand it now.

I am not into politics and I don’t have interest in it till tomorrow. I respect those in politics because dey carry power. Lol hahaha.
My advice is they should identify talents and make them great, don’t have any fear of who betrays you tomorrow, just make men and move, if they remember good if not be happy that they made it through you.

I didn’t asked my boys/men for donations or help, I didn’t also asked my friends for help or donations they did that on their own and I appreciated their efforts.

Gradually ala Igbo ga adinma”

Comment on LinkedIn Feed

Comment: “I am as well awaiting the Prof’s inputs as it concerns moral impacts on this issue.” –

My response: I have addressed that many times: my feed is a business school. Those looking for morals on how to speak about money should go to their pastors or imans. That I write on a subject does not mean that I believe or agree with the subject. My job as an academic is to apply the nuanced academic perspective without being swayed by emotions. I do not drink alcohol.  I do not smoke. I have never entered a nightclub.

But that does not mean that I cannot put effort into analysing those businesses because Ndi Igbo said “uwa bu ahia” [the world is a market]. I want to understand the business in anything! That I write on Dangote business model or Obi Cubana branding model must not be seen that I endorse or will do the same. I am simply a messenger in trying to understand what they do.

The Obi Cubana’s Carnival and Nigeria’s Acres of Diamonds

Good People, I invite you to register for the next edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA. In our program, we are mastering the physics of business and how to generate alpha in business systems. The next edition begins Sept 13 to end Dec 6. It is one of the most exciting business excursions you will attend. Online, thrice weekly Zoom, self-paced and costs just $140 or N50,000.

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Tekedia Mini-MBA >> learn from the business executives creating the great products and services you use daily, from the amazing companies you admire.

Bitcoin has continued its free-fall as emerging events exacerbate the spiraling decline the cryptocurrency market has recorded since May. The leading cryptocurrency dropped below 30,000 once again on Tuesday, erasing previous gains that offered hope of recovery.

Bitcoin dropped to $29,655.22 from around $31,000 where it hung on Monday, undermining the $30,000 support that investors have been counting on. The crash, which affected other coins including ether and altcoins, started shortly after bitcoin hit its $60,000 milestone in April. Reasons for the continuous decline can be traced to regulatory decisions by governments and growing concern about carbon impact of mining on the environment. Tesla’s CEO Elon announced earlier in the year that his electric car company will no longer accept bitcoin due to carbon emission concerns.

In May, China banned its financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading. The decision was followed up by a crackdown on miners. China’s crackdown fueled a nosedive that plummeted the $2 trillion cryptocurrency market, and other governments’ actions are now compounding the situation.

Last week, police in Malaysia crushed 1,069 of powerful mining rigs—essentially, PCs purpose-built mining tools, with a steamroller.

Authorities in the city of Miri in Sarawak, Malaysia seized 1,069 rigs from miners alleged to have stolen electricity for their operations, per a report from local publication The Star. The devices were seized in a joint operation between Miri police and Sarawak Energy Berhad between February and April, and have an estimated value of RM5.3 million ($1.25 million USD).

The Malaysian authorities made the move after miners were accused of stealing electricity. Six miners were arrested.

The crushing of the mining rigs has become one of the boldest warning messages to cryptocurrency miners by a government. In the face of increasing rift between the authorities and miners over the use of electricity, miners in other countries have had their full share of the government’s clampdown.

Earlier last week, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) similarly busted a crypto mining operation for allegedly stealing electricity from a nearby regional energy provider. That bust had its own unique hook: some 3,800 PlayStation 4 consoles made up the majority of the seized devices, as the systems had apparently been modified to mine an unidentified cryptocurrency. Game consoles are significantly less powerful than dedicated PC mining rigs, but there’s still potential for profit when the energy cost is zero.

Apart from the energy conflict, there is an increasing move by governments to regulate the cryptocurrency market, which poses further risk to the dwindling market. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has urged lawmakers to act quickly to construct and adopt new rules on stablecoins.

“Bringing together regulators will enable us to assess the potential benefits of stablecoins while mitigating risks they could pose to users, markets, or the financial system. In light of the rapid growth in digital assets, it is important for the agencies to collaborate on the regulation of this sector and the development of any recommendations for new authorities,” she said in a statement.

Tighter regulation will mean governments having a measure of control over crypto operations, and that will defeat the original purpose of cryptocurrency.

Many governments are also working to develop digital currencies that will serve as government-backed alternatives to crypto coins. With all these happening to the cryptocurrency market at the same time, it is expected to witness further decline even though there are projections of market rebound before the end of the year.

You have these elements when it comes to business playbooks:

• Nature to consumers (N2C): Nature provides them to consumers and the products are not available under normal circumstances to be monetized. Examples are air and village clean water from the stream.
• Government to consumers (G2C): If the Nigerian government goes ahead with its e-naira digital currency, moving deposits from commercial banks to the central banks, that would be a great example. Companies can still monetize on it but lower in the food chain.
• Business to Consumers (B2C): an example is Tekedia Mini-MBA where companies serve consumers, fixing their frictions.
• Business to business(B2B) like Fidelity Bank Plc buying cars from Innoson Motors. 
• Consumer to consumer(C2C ): this is peer-to-peer where people attain equilibrium and execute business transactions. That is happening in Nigeria with the cryptocurrency ban.
• Others: B2B2C, etc

As a founder, picking the space to play in these options and how you serve the clients is the most critical decision you would make. Largely, where you commit will determine your business model. In Tekedia Capital, I will not fund a B2C company in Rwanda because it does not have the numbers. But I am open to B2C in Nigeria. Rwanda can only be attractive for B2B provided I can get early commitments for the product. So, geography shapes your playbook.

Once that is determined, the next question is this: how do I monetize now that I have known how to hit the market? For that one, you look at different indicators. One is how much can people afford to pay? Recently, breaking the pricing into “sachets” helps. That ensures people can buy what they can afford.

Flour Mills Nigeria Plc has improved its pricing and the market rewarded it. Nestle is now the queen of sachetization and it is doing amazingly fine. Cadbury is struggling because its products are not that well optimized on pricing. Unilever is also under siege but it has to clean its books first. In these entities, having well priced products, in segments that customers can afford, at their levels, is very important.

[…]

This is the age of sachetization in Nigeria irrespective of whatever you are selling. We are doing it in Tekedia Mini-MBA with bands for core courses, review of labs, projects supervision, etc. Having broken all into “sachets”, our members have the freedom to pick as they need. If we had lumped all together, resistance to conversion would mount. Pay attention to your pricing playbook – it is a key factor now to success in Nigeria.

To a large extent, Africa’s largest consumer base for B2C is at $3 daily spending bucket. So, if you want the highest possible capture of the population, that product must be priced around that point. There are many ways to do that including packaging in sachets and doing Buy Now Pay Over Time. 

This is it: to win in Africa, you must understand your pricing playbook and the broad mechanics of product pricing. The market is super sensitive to prices.

What Is Your Sachetization Playbook in Nigeria?

I have seen a pattern in most things in technology: it typically begins in the United States. Then, in 3-5 years, it diffuses into emerging markets at scale. Then, American firms begin consolidation. They always begin with India – and after 5-7 years, what they have done in India is replicated in Africa. That pattern has been followed on opening offices, design centers, labs, etc. In the last three years, I have seen a massive acceleration of US firms acquiring Indian companies.

YouTube just picked India’s SimSim this week, to boost YouTube ecommerce. With most US big tech largely barred from acquiring within the US (antitrust), outside America will see action. And you know what: I expect them to come to Africa by 2025!

YouTube said on Tuesday it has acquired social commerce startup Simsim. The Google-owned firm said the acquisition is to help viewers discover new products and find expert advice they trust.

The firms did not give details of the deal, but two people with knowledge of the matter told TechCrunch the Indian startup was valued at over $70 million.

Two-year-old Simsim had raised about $17 million prior to today’s announcement and was valued at $50.1 million in its 2020 Series B financing round.

People, from 2025, American dollars will come, shopping for startups in Africa to acquire at scale. My playbook is to prepare for that moment: mergers or acquisition would be HUGE. They want exposure to add more digits in Wall Street’s market caps, and they will buy themselves into the soul of Africa’s entrepreneurial capitalism.

This is the age of application utility and Africa’s startup ecosystem will begin to experience exits at scale from 2025. Yes, what happened to Paystack would become very common. I am investing and building for that future. Not all will sell, but because of the buy-activity, those that stay the course will see massive value accumulation.

Be ready ,.. #build #innovate #move

LinkedIn Comment on Feed

My Comment: Are we now building for Americans to acquire? How is this different from the playbook of using permanent residency and scholarships to weaken Africa? We don’t seem to understand what these guys have done to us already, and we are still providing them ropes to hang us.

Why is everyone worried about China? Because it managed to upend the playbook the West has used to keep every other region on the ground, and China is now the bad guy…

How has selling natural resources to the West helped Africa rise? The people who make the purchase fix the price, they take the valuables and give you paper money, and we celebrate. Now we want to do same with our start-ups too? We will remain owned forever then.

I think western education the way it’s currently structured is weakening our people, we now give so much for so little, and we are even grateful to them.

For the sake motherland, our heritage and pride, the idea of wholesale of our innovations should be discouraged, the best we can do is to give them a small slice, they will need us more than we will need them.

So, for me, let that 2025 be when African start-ups will take their rightful position in global economic power play, I wasn’t brought in this world to be enslaved by any race.

My response: It is continuum as in mathematics – if you acquire them, they go and build new ones, and after 3 cycles, they attain equilibrium. China’s model is not applicable as using state capitalism, the government became a platform for exit. We need liquidity at the first cycle and after that maturity will come later. For building to host at all costs will emerge from 2032.

Comment: Ndubuisi, while we need money to attain equilibrium, we need to identify our precious jewels, the poster children, and keep them away from wholesome acquisition, because they will become symbols of our heritage; some things cannot be repeated once sold.

My response: The people funding African startups today are not mainly Africans – they will want quick exit. By after two cycles. Africans will have capacity to fund for long-term. By then, our people would have made money and can stay the course. Things take time.

My response: “by quick exit that means they are doing debt financing and not equity…..” . But I was referring to VCs who have been investing in African startups. Most are foreign funds or money. They are actually taking equity. But they will want to be out as quickly as possible. So, if the big tech comes they will dance. Today, those with money in Africa are not investing in tech at scale. The young people in tech will end up doing the investing but they have to exit and money made first!