The video podcast, “Three Pillars of Innovation,” posits that successful innovation and robust companies are fundamentally built upon three interconnected pillars: People, Processes, and Tools. Ndubuisi Ekekwe emphasizes that a company’s mission to create and deliver efficient market services relies heavily on the effective utilization of these three elements.

Tools are defined as all the physical and technological resources necessary for production, from laptops and pencils to machinery and office spaces. They are the means by which work is executed. Processes represent the standardized methods, procedures, and protocols that dictate how tasks are performed within the organization, ensuring consistency and efficiency. People are the human capital – the workforce whose knowledge, skills, and efforts drive the entire system.

A critical insight from the podcast is the interdependence of these pillars. The absence or weakness of any one pillar can cause the entire system to break down. For instance, having skilled people and efficient processes is futile without the necessary tools (e.g., software developers without computers). Conversely, possessing advanced tools and streamlined processes is useless without the competent people to operate them. Similarly, a lack of clear processes will hinder even the most capable people and advanced tools.

Therefore, true innovation is achieved by continuously improving these pillars. Companies can innovate by:

1. Enhancing their People: This involves elevating their knowledge systems, improving the workforce through training, and attracting skilled individuals.
2. Refining their Processes: This means making operations easier, faster, and more efficient, such as streamlining customer service or reducing the steps in a production process.
3. Upgrading their Tools: Adopting modern technologies like AI and advanced computing systems to augment capabilities and improve overall efficiency.

By strategically focusing on these improvements, companies can build strong capabilities, optimize the utilization of their resources, reduce operational costs, and significantly boost productivity, ultimately strengthening their competitive position in the market.

The video is available at Blucera but you can read the Tekedia AI Companion summary here.

About Tekedia Daily

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At Blucera, home of Blucera WinGPT (AI personal educator and coach), eVault Legal Custodial services (store vital personal, family and business documents securely), business tools to grow enterprises, and global archives of Tekedia courses and libraries, Ndubuisi Ekekwe podcasts every week day. Some Tekedia Institute programs offer bonus access to Tekedia Daily or one can register at Blucera for the podcast.

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China’s electric vehicle giant BYD is set to begin assembling vehicles at its new factory in Brazil as early as this month, marking its boldest overseas expansion move yet.

The push into Brazil, BYD’s largest foreign market, comes amid a global acceleration of its footprint—at a time when rival Tesla is grappling with declining deliveries and growing investor fatigue, partly fueled by CEO Elon Musk’s deepening political entanglements.

BYD’s senior vice president in Brazil, Alexandre Baldy, told reporters that the plant in Camaçari, Bahia state—acquired from Ford in 2023—will begin assembling 50,000 vehicles this year using imported “Complete Knock Down” (CKD) kits. While full production is scheduled for July 2026, Baldy confirmed the company has already completed this year’s vehicle imports ahead of Brazil’s new EV import tariffs, which kicked in on July 1.

“We should inaugurate in the coming days,” Baldy said. “We’ve already completed this year’s imports, taking advantage of the period before the import tax increase.” He added that BYD is also negotiating reduced tax rates on locally assembled vehicles.

The move positions BYD to significantly reduce its dependence on imports and better compete under Brazil’s new protectionist measures aimed at strengthening domestic manufacturing.

A Strategic Push Beyond China

BYD’s Brazil assembly plant is being hailed as its most ambitious global investment to date, capping a string of recent expansions that are rapidly turning the Shenzhen-based firm into the world’s top EV powerhouse.

In 2023, BYD overtook Tesla in global EV deliveries, shipping 3.02 million electric vehicles compared to Tesla’s 1.81 million, according to company filings. BYD has since broadened its international footprint with factories in Thailand and plans in Hungary, where it will build its first passenger EV plant in Europe. In Uzbekistan, the company announced plans to build electric buses and hybrids. The company also entered Japan and India in 2022, where it’s been aggressively rolling out its popular Atto 3 SUV.

The Brazil venture marks its first car assembly facility in the Americas, and BYD is positioning the move as a springboard into Latin America’s growing EV market. Once fully operational, the Camaçari complex is expected to create up to 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, adding political and economic weight to its presence in the region.

Labor and Regulatory Hurdles

However, the move has come with some challenges. In December 2024, local labor inspectors accused Chinese contractors building the Bahia plant of subjecting workers to slavery-like conditions. Brazilian prosecutors filed a lawsuit in May 2025, citing allegations of human trafficking, following failed settlement talks.

Baldy said BYD has “always sought to respect Brazilian law and human dignity in all operations” and is working to reach a resolution, but offered no explanation for why negotiations with labor authorities broke down.

In the meantime, BYD took advantage of Brazil’s pre-tariff window, flooding the market with over 22,000 finished vehicles from China in the first five months of the year. The surge drew backlash from local automakers who accused BYD of delaying its production ramp-up while benefiting from a temporary trade advantage.

Tesla on the Back Foot

While BYD’s dominance grows, Tesla is showing signs of stress. The company recently reported a 14% year-on-year drop in vehicle deliveries for Q2 2025, missing Wall Street expectations and signaling deepening concerns about slowing demand, rising competition—especially in China—and a brand that’s losing its shine in key international markets.

Much of the concern among investors is tied to Elon Musk’s polarizing political activities. His recent announcement of a new political party, the “America Party”, has triggered fresh unease on Wall Street, contributing to a $68 billion drop in Tesla’s market capitalization in a single day. Analysts warn that Musk’s political activism, especially his alignment with far-right U.S. politics, is alienating large swaths of Tesla’s traditional customer base—notably in Europe, where environmental consciousness and brand image are crucial.

“Very simply, Musk diving deeper into politics and now trying to take on the Beltway establishment is exactly the opposite direction that Tesla investors/shareholders want him to take during this crucial period for the Tesla story,” said Dan Ives, global head of tech research at Wedbush Securities.

In contrast, BYD has remained largely apolitical, focusing instead on product development, price competitiveness, and strategic global alliances. Its dual strategy of selling both full EVs and plug-in hybrids has also helped it weather markets where charging infrastructure remains limited.

BYD’s aggressive expansion—underpinned by price undercutting, vertical integration, and government support—has become a case study in how to beat Western automakers at their own game. With the Brazil assembly plant, BYD is not just entering a new geography—it’s sending a message: the Chinese EV leader is no longer playing catch-up. It’s setting the pace.

Meanwhile, with Tesla stumbling and competitors like Volkswagen and GM still recalibrating their EV roadmaps, BYD’s calculated bets abroad—from São Paulo to Budapest to Bangkok—could firmly entrench it as the dominant global force in electric mobility.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the alarm that sustained increases in production costs across key sectors could soon drive a fresh wave of consumer inflation.

This warning is contained in the apex bank’s June 2025 Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report, which provides critical insights into business conditions across the country.

The report reveals a widening gap between input prices and output prices, particularly within the Industry, Services, and Agriculture sectors. The CBN noted that firms are still holding back from fully passing on rising costs to consumers—an approach it says is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

“The increase in the gap between higher input costs and output price tends to put pressure on business profit margins. Cost absorption by firms is likely to be unsustainable in the long term and may foreshadow future consumer price inflation,” the CBN stated.

Agriculture is Most Exposed to Cost Pressures

According to the report, the Agriculture sector recorded the largest gap between input and output prices in June—9.8 index points—suggesting that agribusinesses are absorbing significantly more cost pressure than they can pass on. This is concerning in a country where food accounts for the bulk of household expenditure and has consistently driven headline inflation.

By comparison, the Services sector recorded a gap of 4.4 index points, the lowest among the three major segments, indicating relatively milder pressure. The Industry sector also reported cost imbalances, though not as steep as in agriculture.

The implication is weighty that unless these trends reverse, businesses—particularly those in agriculture—will be left with no option but to raise prices, which could exacerbate Nigeria’s fragile inflation environment.

Growth Persists, but Risks Lurk Beneath

Despite cost concerns, the report showed a continued expansion in economic activity, with the composite PMI rising to 52.3 index points in June 2025. This marks the sixth consecutive month of overall growth, suggesting that firms are still experiencing an uptick in output and demand.

Across the sectors:

• Industry recorded a PMI of 51.4 index points, driven largely by rising production levels. Out of the 17 industrial subsectors surveyed, 9 showed expansion.
• Services followed closely with a PMI of 51.3, backed by increased business engagements across 11 of its 14 subsectors.
• Agriculture, however, led the pack with a robust PMI of 55.2, also notching its eleventh straight month of expansion. All five agricultural subsectors surveyed recorded growth, largely due to intensified farming activity during the planting season.
• In total, 25 out of 36 subsectors recorded expansion during the month, further indicating that economic momentum is widespread.

Mounting Inflation Risks Amid Fragile Recovery

The CBN’s concern comes at a time when the government and monetary authorities have been grappling with persistent inflation, high borrowing costs, and currency volatility. Although inflation slowed marginally in recent months, the apex bank warns that a new round of price increases could be imminent if firms begin to offload accumulated cost pressures onto consumers.

With agriculture under the most strain—and food inflation already one of Nigeria’s most stubborn economic problems—any upward price adjustments in the sector could ripple across the economy.

Analysts say the warning from the CBN underscores the delicate balance between sustaining economic recovery and managing inflation, especially as the central bank continues to tighten monetary policy to tame price growth. However, supply-side challenges such as high logistics costs, forex instability, and insecurity in farming regions continue to erode production gains.

The June PMI report may thus signal a critical inflection point, where businesses must choose between eroding their margins or risking consumer backlash by raising prices—each scenario with far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s economic outlook.