How do you launch a new product? How do you launch a new business unit in where you work? How do you launch a new subsidiary? Yes, how do you launch a new company? And how do you launch a New Vision?

This Saturday at 7pm WAT, at Tekedia Mini-MBA, our topic is “How To Launch”. Let us have a conversation to co-learn and co-share, and advance the wealth in nations. I will be anchoring the session. The goal would be to master the mechanics on How To Launch as we begin to move to  the Execution phase of the edition. Yes, it is getting to the action time – let the boss know that you know! 

Meanwhile, tomorrow, it would be a big one as we welcome four faculty members from TAFFDS, a US-based think tank, to co-learn on the possibilities of the future. On Thursday, another U.S. entity, Krozu, will take us on an excursion on remote work administration, and how we can prepare for the emerging skills of the future.

Zoom links are already in the Board.

Registration for the next edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA is ongoing – register here

This photo was used for the introduction of the Ovim tablet, the magical device we started about a decade ago. It was a really good business as we supplied to the Nigerian Navy, Shell, UnityKapital and some companies. Named after my village in Nigeria, the Ovim tablet bundled some of the earliest Android apps. In short, we ran an Android app store with hundreds of apps.

 I made a call and wrote in late 2010: “Nigerian Developers – Fasmicro says Focus on Android Platform…We understand that Blackberry is popular today in Nigeria, but Android will eclipse it within the next few months”. When I wrote that in my old blog, Nkpuhe ( a Revelation), many could not understand as Blackberry was still popular in Africa. (The original full post is archived here.)

But I saw the future and built a business on Android. We even met the CEO of Shell as we worked to develop something for them. Then, from nowhere Tecno came, and the party ended. Competition and asymmetric attack: Tecno’s price was superior and we found no space to exist.

That takes me to the news that LG has closed its smartphone business: “LG Electronics Inc has confirmed it will wind down its loss-making mobile division after failing to find a buyer following the approval of its board of directors on April 5.” I tell you one thing LG: it hurts! Hardware is the most difficult business in this world – you are one generation away from extinction. 

More countries are rolling out plans to establish digital currencies as the wave of crypto currencies spreads across borders, disrupting mainstream financial systems and riling up central banks.

On Monday, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) began experiments to study the feasibility of issuing its own digital currency, joining efforts by other central banks that are aiming to match the innovation in the field achieved by the private sector, Reuters reported.

In January, China embarked on the third trial of e-yuan in the city of Shenzhen, as part of a larger scheme to introduce the digital currency in mainland China. The first test was held in Luohu District, in October 2020, while a second round was conducted in Futian District at the beginning of this year.

In February, Beijing joined Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), to explore cross-border payments for digital currencies.

These big moves by China seems to have ignited other nations to speed up action toward developing their own digital currencies. Last month, European Central Bank announced a plan to issue digital euros, and America is contemplating digitizing the dollar. Global central banks are looking at developing digital currencies to modernize their financial systems, ward off the threat from cryptocurrencies and speed up domestic and international payments.

The Asians are faster with their plans as they believe it will help their currencies to upset the US dollar.

For Japan, the first phase of experiments, to be carried out until March 2022, will focus on testing the technical feasibility of issuing, distributing and redeeming a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

“Since the release of “The Bank of Japan’s Approach to Central Bank Digital Currency” in October 2020, the Bank of Japan has been preparing to conduct experiments, such as specifying basic requirements of the test environment and selecting partners to collaborate with, in accordance with this approach.

“We will begin to test the technical feasibility of the core functions and features required for CBDC through a Proof of Concept (PoC) from April 2021. If the Bank judges it necessary to go a step further, it will also consider a pilot program that involves payment service providers (PSPs; e.g., banks and non-bank PSPs) and end users,” the BOJ said in a statement.

The BOJ will thereafter move to the second phase of experiments that will scrutinize more detailed functions, such as whether to set limits on the amount of CBDC each entity can hold.

If necessary, the central bank will launch a pilot programme that involves payment service providers and end users, BOJ Executive Director Shinichi Uchida said last month.

“While there is no change in the BOJ’s stance it currently has no plan to issue CBDC, we believe initiating experiments at this stage is a necessary step,” Uchida told a committee of policymakers and bank lobbies looking into CBDC.

While China leads the pack, the BOJ has been speeding up efforts to catch up with a plan announced in October to begin experimenting on how to operate its own digital currency.

In February, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan released the outcome of the phase 4 of their joint research on distributed ledger technology in a report titled, “Balancing confidentiality and auditability in a distributed ledger environment,” under the Stella project.

However, while the experiment has recorded significant success, the BOJ acknowledges that developing a sustainable digital currency will not come easy, as there are still many technical and non-technical questions to answer.

Many of my former colleagues in banking have surprisingly responded positively to the debate which I started, when I posted that some sectors must play deeper catalytic roles in the Nigerian economy. I used the banks, and suggested that even though they could sell airtime, and make university portals, they should leave such opportunities for others. In the about 37 private messages I have glanced through, even the bankers like the debate. This is a sample:

“… It’s basically to share ideas. No strings attached. We need more of those debates to enlighten us on topical issues. There is this perception that banks are ripping people off and our people need to know that this is wrong. 

Banks are increasingly innovating as margins are thinning down. Obviously, banks capture 360 degree value from customers riding on technology. Airtime vending is one of them. They are only conveniently providing this service to their customers. Telcos are also delving into financial services though regulated by CBN. Imagine what mobile money would have been in Nigeria if it was not a bank led model. 

So the debate shines light on some of these issues.”

Certainly, I want banks, telcos and everyone to do well. And that will mean adopting the spirit of Umunneoma Economics, not full-play Adam Smith Economics. Simply, Umunneoma Economics is an economic philosophy that is central to African culture where you share so that no one is left behind. Why? If we do not address this, soon  Nigeria will have a super class of three sectors with extremely profitable companies, and others largely nothing. The sectors for super-profits would be telcos, fintechs/banks and cement companies. 

In my 2019 convocation lecture in FUTO (Federal University of Technology, Owerri Nigeria), I spoke on economic opportunities in Nigeria – and The Umunneoma Economics. (Umunneoma means “good brethren” in Igbo). In my postulation, I explained how that economic philosophy is the pillar that drives the Igbo Apprenticeship System. The new global capitalist manifesto which is working to go beyond fixated focus on shareholders, to consider ALL stakeholders, is something the Umunneoma Economics is doing already.

The core  tenet of the Igbo Apprenticeship System could be likened to the U.S. Federal Reserve which largely works to keep the U.S. dollars stable (by reducing inflation) and maximize employment through interest rates. So, the Reserve has defined main focus areas even though it can use its systems to do other things. Consequently, the U.S. Congress uses those two main factors to ascertain the effectiveness of the Reserve policy.

So, the challenge would be how we can get them to ensure we build for the future. That is where the Umunneoma Economics comes into play. Yes, Adam Smith economics, while good, is lagging behind as we see the evolution of the stakeholder capitalism over shareholder capitalism.

The future of Nigeria is now largely in the hands of corporate Nigeria since our political system continues to see fractures. Those changes we hope to see in Nigeria will likely come via markets because political leadership seems unperturbed. And if markets do not address those challenges, opportunities of the future will not emerge. So, building economic pipelines would be critical, and I call on the banks, telcos and cement companies to see higher purposes beyond the pure fiduciary ones. If we do not have that mentality, we will fail to create the future and that means we cannot predict it!

The Umunneoma Economics