THE IGBO APPRENTICESHIP MODEL HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

Kemi is Togolese. She has been making hair for people for over 25 years now. She operates in Ikeja Lagos. She’s been making hair for a friend of mine since my friend was a teenager till today. She’s so good (I hear). Over the past 25 years, Kemi has trained well over 100 other people who have been apprentices with her, and have moved on to establish their own businesses. When Kemi’s business is overwhelmed with customers who want to make hair, she calls for reinforcement from her partners who are all former apprentices with her. Kemi’s business may never die because she has mastered the PATRIARCH MODEL OF BUSINESS.

SOBCA operates the same kind of model. We do not serve only the consumer market. No. We serve the practitioners market. We raise practitioners and support them to build their own brands. That way, we can offload clients to our co-practitioners and ensure that the market is properly distributed. SOBCA will never die. (Did I hear your ‘Amen’).

This patriarch model looks like the ancient Igbo Apprenticeship Model that Africa needs to go back to and embrace. Until we face our own indigenous models, we will keep running after Harvard. By the way, Harvard has formally adopted the Igbo Apprenticeship Model as a course module. It was documented and designed by Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe. I am his dogged follower on LinkedIn. So even Harvard is interested in what we have abandoned.

My advice for you as a Business person:

1. Build your own proprietary model that works. Know what you’re doing and do what you know very well.
2. Bring new people under your system who are interested. Show them the way. Be generous with your trade secrets. Give them customers. Let them fly. Don’t be afraid of competition. Rather, create new markets.
3. Rinse Repeat!!!

Thank me later (in future). 😁

Have you registered for STARTUP GROWTH RETREAT holding NEXT SATURDAY? Call 08073610884 now to register…

m a k t u b!!!

SO