I teach blitzscaling but I caution Nigerian startups NOT to do it until we can have a more predictable economic ecosystem. The gestation period to profitability in a typical Nigerian startup is long. That long gestation is also the reason why many startups and small businesses collapse after a few years of founding. Typically, in startups, you raise capital, ramp up market entry, grow fast and then  attain profitability. But in our extremely volatile economy, if the timing is off by months during the ramp up phase, the company can collapse. You just run out of cash.

Yes, your new business problem in Nigeria is not just capital but the long gestation period required for profitability, affected by many factors at scale.

Those factors include the fact that every business is a local government since you provide your light (generator), water (borehole), security (guards), etc. It is based on this that I tell founders – Do Not Blitzscale in Nigeria because if one core metric misaligns, you will struggle.

Many LinkedIn comments on the OPay piece. I spoke to a group of founders a few days ago, and the first question was the OPay article. Let me make it clear: OPay across its businesses have run validated business models.  No one is saying that the OPay business model is largely wrong. If you have read me, I have praised its aggregation and double play strategies. The core of my piece has remained that OPay has no patience. Yes, I have a problem with its intended rate of growth. In New York, London or Beijing, hyper-growth (or blitzscaling) delivers two options: win the trophy, or crash. In Nigeria, almost all the time, the only outcome is a crash because Nigeria does not have the conditions precedent to do any blitzscaling in the nation.

Blitzscaling within a stochastic system is an illusion and pure guesswork since the leverages cannot be put in order. Yes, the greatest entrepreneurs in Nigeria stay the course, go slow, and manage the state of our entropy. They look boring but there is a reason for that: you survive if you can find how to make profit rather than trying to go for dominance only to be tripped into oblivion.

Why Blitzscaling Struggles in Nigeria

He is one of our members and after his course on business leadership, he decided to write a book. I was at the book launch last week and his company adopted the book, making it a required reading for everyone. I want you to also get a digital copy. The book by Tiamiyu Ismail is titled “Moral Licensing Syndrome: How Your Category-Best Employees Can Endanger Your System”. It goes for N1,500. I have gotten mine already.

Overview: Human beings have a dual personality, that is the personality that conforms to rules and the personality that breaks them. Both work hand-in-hand to enable us to reach a balanced moral frame or what experts call moral equilibrium. Moral Licensing Syndrome is a condition where our rebellious personality is allowed to manifest due to our exhibition of the conformist personality in the past. Essentially, you should not bend the rules for out-performers as doing so will in the near future destroy the company. Using cases and illustrations, Ismail explains.

This book is to help employers, HR, etc to understand the nature and disposition of their employees. With the knowledge, they can improve their firms.

Contacts Ismail at WhatsApp +234 818 852 8132 for order or buy via this link. For some who cannot afford but want to read, I am paying for 10; connect with him.

Tekedia Mini-MBA for Corporates is designed for private sector institutions. We are helping companies to make their workers to become better innovators. Yes, your staff would go through a methodological process to think of solutions for the business. With our class notes, videos, live sessions, and cases, your team will have the right tools to produce that FUTURE for the business. You already have a great team, make them BETTER. Learn more.

Tekedia Mini-MBA for Corporates is a customized version of the general Tekedia Mini-MBA. It is designed for private and public institutions. It focuses on the same theme of innovation, growth, and digital execution. But unlike the 12-week general Mini-MBA, the Corporate version goes for 4, 6, 8, or 10 weeks.  There would be scheduled webinars but no physical contacts.

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It is the most advanced Management program out, coordinated by some of the finest business operators and thought-leaders. I invite you to beat our early bird and join Tekedia Mini-MBA. Check out our full curriculum and register here.