Growing up as an Igbo child, I've always appreciated the industriousness & business savvy nature of my native people. Even more intriguing is how a man with no formal business education & probably no higher than a primary school education could be doing business worth billions of naira every year in volume. If you've done business in Nigeria, you would understand how difficult it is to make a few millions annually, talk more of a few billions. It is truly remarkable.
I've decided to do a mini report on what I think could be responsible for the success of the Igbo people in business.
1. The Igbo Business School:
The average Igbo entrepreneur or trader learnt their trade from another trader. In Igbo, they are called "Nwa boy".
The Nwa boys are typically brought under the tutelage of an older, more experienced trader who shows them the tricks of the business first hand, exposes the to real customers & situations, and the best part, gives them their seed capital & business support to succeed.
Think of it as, going to learn how to build an e-commerce company from Jeff Bezos, meeting his top customers, investors & partners & then getting a seed round investment & support to start your company after say 4-7 years. Incredible.
2. Negotiation:
This is a core skill learnt in the Igbo Business School. No need to define negotiation but I'd give you a common scenario of Igbo traders using it in play.
...
Emeka, a 45 year old trader with only a secondary school level education travels to China to import electronics. While in China, he discovers a factory that fabricates low cost DVDs for emerging markets (Like Africa & South Asia). Instead of just buying them & shipping to Nigeria, he strikes a deal with their management & convinces them to produce at an even lower cost (and quality) & brand it for him. He ships them to Nigeria as his own brand & literally makes a killing off it!
Read the story again & understand the depth.
3. Customer service:
I was at a warehouse in Lagos a few years ago to get some clothes when this man (let's call him Chidi) arrived with a customer. It wasn't his shop but apparently this customer wanted sweatshirts in bulk & Chidi didn't have them. So he convinced the customer that he had sweatshirts in his 'other shop.'
When they got there, he brought out the books, coordinated the sales boys & they started comparing different sweatshirts & hoodies. While at it, he ordered the customer a plate of Jollof rice & a bottle of Fayrouz.
The customer ended up buying sweatshirts & hoodies worth over #150K. He made over #30K from the referral & the customer left very satisfied.
4. Collaboration:
Similar to the last point, they all come together to pull each other up. Like the Chidi scenario, the sales people & shop owner understood the situation but cooperated, allowing him run the show & make some money.
If you're a player in their ecosystem, other players want to see you win. They would teach you the market rules, bring customers to you, give you seed capital, sell for you when you're unavailable & lots more.
5. Domain Expertise:
My dad's friend talked about his experience starting out an electronics business. He didn't go through the nwa boy route, he just did a bit of research & started importing fairly used goods from Europe.
When the goods came in, he couldn't sell the goods at the price & frequency he anticipated because the incumbents decided to frustrate him. He hadn't gone through their system, he didn't consult the right people. He didn't have the requisite domain experience to thrive in the ecosystem. At the end, he had to consult some key players & finally got the necessary crash course that helps him till today.
6. Logistics & Distribution:
This is a very difficult subject even for the most advanced business globally. In many MBA & business programs, entrepreneurs pay hefty sums to learn advanced logistics & distribution management techniques.
But, think about this...
Some traders import 10+ 40ft containers worth hundreds of thousands of dollars every month from China & Europe, clear them at Customs, manage inventory, sell all of them & make profits. All these without attending Lagos or Harvard Business School or even having a bachelor's degree. Mind blowing!
The Igbo entrepreneurship system does have its flaws but there are several lessons we can adopt in our modern entrepreneurship as we try to create a better, improved model of doing business in Nigeria & even globally. I'm still learning the system & would be open to books, articles, videos, anything on the subject.
What lesson did I leave out? What's your favourite lesson from this piece? Tell me in the comments section.