2.1 – Winning Through Accumulation of Capabilities

“Nigeria is one of the best-kept secrets…A lot of foreigners are not investing because they’re waiting for the right time. There is no right time.” – Aliko Dangote Companies win by accumulating capabilities. From Google to Dangote Group, when companies accumulate capabilities, they operate in domains that generate higher value, usually upstream, compared with where typical firms operate, usually downstream (see Figure 2.1).  As in the oil and gas sector, extensive knowledge base is required in the upstream sector of the industry where exploration and drilling are done, while in the downstream sector, the knowledge required is lower for the…