The landscape of business has been profoundly reshaped by technology, geopolitics and other factors, enabling new variants of business models. These models move beyond traditional revenue generation, emphasizing agility, foresight, and a keen understanding of interconnected value streams. Companies that succeed today often leverage a visible “oasis” product or service to support a less apparent, yet highly profitable, core. This strategic approach allows them to adapt quickly to market shifts and unlock new avenues for growth. More than 80% of leading technology web companies utilize one business model!

Tekedia emphasizes that these modern models often involve a “Double Play Strategy,” where one aspect of the business, while popular, serves as a catalyst for another, more lucrative one. This is exemplified by tech giants where user engagement on one platform fuels the success of a backend service. The key lies in identifying and scaling a unique business model that capitalizes on these interconnected opportunities, ensuring long-term profitability and resilience in an increasingly complex global economy. For example, Dangote Group is anchored on its peerless supply chain powered by trucks across Nigeria.

In this lecture, I will explain the leading business models of the 21st century, and why how you make money is more important than how much money you make because over time, your business model – the logic of how you capture value as a business – will define your future and business sustainability. If you run the wrong business model, you will fail irrespective of how hard working you may be!

Sat, July 19 | 7pm-8.30pm WAT | The Great Modern Business Models – Ndubuisi Ekekwe | pick a seat at next Tekedia Mini-MBA https://school.tekedia.com/course/mmba18/

This video podcast by Ndubuisi Ekekwe on “Winning Your Financial Future” provides a comprehensive roadmap to achieving financial independence, structured around five core pillars. It begins with the critical importance of getting out of debt, emphasizing that debt is a financial burden that prevents individuals from truly building their own wealth. Strategies for debt reduction include aggressively paying down bills, optimizing income to accelerate repayment, and strategically prioritizing either high-interest debts (for maximum long-term savings) or smaller debts (for psychological momentum). The speaker highlights the pervasive issue of personal debt, particularly credit card debt and predatory online lending, underscoring the need for a disciplined approach to borrowing and repayment.

The second pillar focuses on establishing an emergency fund, or liquid assets, to provide psychological security and a buffer against unforeseen financial shocks. The recommendation is to have six to twelve months’ worth of basic living expenses readily accessible, ideally in a savings account that can also earn some interest. This fund ensures stability and peace of mind, allowing individuals time to recover from job loss or other emergencies without falling back into debt.

The third crucial step is strategic investing. The lecture stresses the need to automate investments and adjust investment strategies as financial goals evolve throughout one’s life. Three investor profiles are introduced: “growth makers” who seek high returns from high-risk ventures like startups, “income chasers” who prioritize stable dividend payments, and “value pickers” who identify undervalued companies with long-term appreciation potential. The overarching message is the individual’s responsibility to align their investment philosophy with their personal circumstances and professional journey.

The fourth pillar, improving skills and earning potential, is presented as a fundamental driver of financial freedom. By deepening one’s means to earn more—not necessarily by working longer hours, but by increasing value—individuals can generate more capital for investment. This increased earning capacity fuels the investment cycle, building financial resilience and paving the way for a more secure retirement. The speaker debunks the myth that wealth is solely a result of luck, asserting that the richest individuals achieved their status through diligent work and disciplined management of their earnings.

Finally, the lecture concludes with the indispensable practice of pruning expenses. This pillar underscores that financial discipline in spending is paramount. Uncontrolled expenses can negate all other efforts towards financial freedom, effectively trapping individuals in a cycle of financial dependence. By consciously managing and reducing unnecessary outgoings, individuals can free up more resources for debt repayment, savings, and investments, thereby solidifying their path to true financial independence.

• Podcast Video: Sign-up at Blucera and check Tekedia Daily podcast category under Training Module. The summary of the podcast is here.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has introduced a sweeping licensing overhaul aimed at accelerating digital innovation and unlocking the country’s full technological potential.

Unveiled on Thursday by NCC Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida, the new General Authorisation Framework represents a fundamental departure from traditional telecom licensing models, offering a more adaptive approach to accommodate emerging technologies and services.

Maida, while speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement forum in Abuja, said the framework was crafted to support experimentation, encourage investment in novel technologies, and ensure Nigeria keeps pace with global trends.

“This reform introduces a flexible and responsive regulatory licensing approach,” he said. “It is structured to embrace new and emerging services that fall outside the existing license structure.”

Three-Pronged Innovation Model

At the core of the new framework are three key instruments:

1. Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Pilots: These pilots allow innovators to test new products or services in live environments, helping determine real-world feasibility, technical performance, and market viability before full deployment.
2. Regulatory Sandbox: A controlled testing space where startups, service providers, and other industry players can pilot advanced technologies—such as Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN), dynamic spectrum sharing, or edge computing—under NCC supervision and regulatory guidance.
3. Interim Service Authorization: This provides temporary operational approval to novel services that do not yet fall under Nigeria’s existing license categories, ensuring innovation isn’t stifled by outdated regulatory bottlenecks.

Maida noted that the design is meant to lower the barrier to entry for startups while simultaneously giving established players a way to test cutting-edge ideas with regulatory backing.

“It creates a platform for innovators of various sizes to demonstrate feasibility, assess risk, and measure outcomes before deployment,” he said.

Responding to Global Shifts

The licensing shift comes amid rapid evolution in the global digital ecosystem, where artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and software-defined networking are challenging legacy regulatory structures.

Mr. Usman Mamman, Director of Licensing and Authorization at the NCC, emphasized that Nigeria’s previous license framework had struggled to keep up with the pace of technological change.

He explained that the Commission has witnessed the emergence of new technologies, novel business models, and innovative services, many of which do not fit neatly into its traditional licensing structures.

According to him, the General Authorization Framework was developed after months of cross-departmental collaboration, analysis of international best practices, and internal review of service applications and proposals that could not be accommodated under current licensing norms.

“Recognizing this shift, the Commission deemed it necessary to critically re-evaluate and retool our regulatory toolkit.

“One of the key outcomes of this review is the development of the draft General Authorization Framework (GAF), a flexible, forward-looking approach to licensing that promotes innovation while ensuring regulatory oversight, consumer protection, and market integrity,” he said.

Mamman stressed that the new regime is closely aligned with Nigeria’s broader digital economy ambitions. The framework supports key policies such as:

• The Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023, which provides a legal basis for privacy and data innovation.
• The National Broadband Plan, which aims to achieve 70% broadband penetration by 2025.
• The Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, which mandates the NCC to promote fair competition, protect consumer rights, and foster innovation in the sector.

The new licensing model aims to provide a strong foundation for Nigeria’s ambitions to become a digital innovation hub in Africa by ensuring regulatory oversight, consumer protection, and market integrity.

Maida made it clear that successful implementation will depend on collaboration. He called on mobile operators, infrastructure companies, equipment manufacturers, startups, academia, and civil society to actively participate in shaping the framework.

The new framework is expected to create room for services that involve artificial intelligence, immersive communication, space-based internet delivery (such as Starlink), fintech-layered telecom solutions, and cloud-native software deployment—all areas where Nigerian startups and innovators have begun to make notable strides.

With this move, the NCC is positioning Nigeria’s regulatory environment as an enabler rather than a hindrance to the next wave of digital transformation.