The Kwakol team gets to review some books they've read from our in-house library.
by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede
by Dambisa Moyo
by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, and Karen Dillon
by Chukuka Chukwuma and Osaretin Oswald Guobadia
by Chigozie Obioma
by Andrew Ross Sorkin
by Morgan Housel
by Karl Maier
by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, and Karen Dillon
by Bruno Macaes
by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, and Karen Dillon
The Prosperity Paradox, written by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillen, highlights the importance of market creating innovation- particularly for emerging economies. Using case studies from different countries, the writers provide evidence which reveals that prosperity for less developed nations is more about creating new markets within these economies than fixing poverty. They describe why in spite of the good will and billions of dollars spent by individuals and organizations to eradicate poverty; this ambition is met with little success. Measures like providing access to free healthcare, schools and clean drinking water can only go so far. But when innovations create markets and affordable products for consumers who will otherwise go without, social and economic transformation follows.
They go on to explain how various innovations adopted by institutions can be categorized into three different classes: Market creating innovation, efficiency innovation and sustaining innovation. Market creating innovation occurs when a product or service becomes accessible to a segment of society that initially couldn’t access them. This creates growth because the alternative for these consumers will be nothing. The second type of innovation called sustaining innovation happens when a company creates better performing products. Although this form of innovation is necessary for businesses because it improves profitability, it does not promote economic growth. For instance, Toyota will not build a new plant and employ more factory workers to produce an upgraded version of their Toyota Corolla. Finally, efficiency innovation improves the operational aspects of a company’s existing business model. This kind of innovation often increases the profitability of the company at the expense of slower economic growth.
The writers show that market-creating innovation is the best way to propel economic prosperity. A classic example given illustrates how the invention of the sewing machine by Singer revolutionized dressmaking in the United States and created growth in markets that were previously non-existent. Prior to Singer’s invention, the average American owned two items of clothing due to the high cost of dressmaking that made owning them expensive. Then came the Singer sewing machine, which was not only less expensive but simpler to operate. While a skilled seamstress could produce only forty stitches a minute, the machine enabled an unskilled person to produce nine hundred stitches a minute. Increased demand for the sewing machine led to booms in the textile, wood and steel industries and the creation of other industries. The authors present case studies that cut across different continents- from Asia to South America- all revealing that for sustainable economic growth, the key lies in market creating innovations.
An erroneous belief is that once infrastructure and institutions are built, the markets will come. However, it’s been proven that as markets become more developed, they begin to pull in the infrastructure and institutions required.Christensen’s refreshing approach to poverty eradication shows that the focus shouldn’t be on combating poverty but on creating prosperity, this is bound to yield a much more permanent and impactful result.
by Dambisa Moyo
Corporations do a lot. They employ millions of people, pay taxes to governments, and provide goods and services, including life-saving goods like COVID-19 vaccines at the height of the pandemic. And they are at the forefront of cutting-edge research in everything from AI to 3D manufacturing, and clean technology.
While the CEO is often the most visible representative of a company, the board of directors plays a critical if less visible role in the smooth running of the company. Dambisa Moyo’s book sheds light on this less-visible function. Boards recruit the CEO, conduct audits, and make difficult decisions on buying new companies or selling the company. And they’re responsible for making decisions on the company’s future.
On the eve of the pandemic (Q4’19), who would have envisioned the havoc that would be wrought on the world, and companies dependent on distant supply chains? How many banks would have predicted the extent of the financial crisis in 2008? In hindsight, the events look clear. However, for boards who have to make forward-looking decisions, it’s often a difficult, if underappreciated, task.
The author outlines best practices for board members as well as CEOs, founders, and investors who work closely with board members. It is certainly a must-read for anyone interested in business or investing.
Finally, I admire the author’s ability to dissect short and long-term trends that affect companies and their boards. These include rapid technological developments, a fluid geopolitical environment, the rise of protectionism in longstanding bastions of democracy, and a changing investment landscape that looks not only at profit but also counts diversity, ESG, and gender equality among others.
by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede
Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede is the perfect book for articulating Nigerian entrepreneurship. There are only a few books by Nigerian entrepreneurs, Nigerian financial markets players, and even Nigerians in the public sector - the most recent release prior to Imoukhuede’s, Africa Rise and Shine: How a Nigerian Entrepreneur from Humble Beginnings Grew a Business to $16 Billion by Jim Ovia, which I also read, was incredibly tepid and vaguely written. So, I am really thankful for the quality replete in this book.
Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa is Aigboje's tale of how he and Herbert Wigwe (Access Bank PLC's current MD/CEO) bought a small bank nearing liquidation in March 2002 and turned it around into one of the 20 biggest and most profitable banks in Africa, as well as the second biggest bank in West Africa by the end of 2022. It starts off by highlighting the paternalism and godfatherism that mired Nigeria's first retail banking boom in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The introductory pages highlight how much of a role both Citibank and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) played in the story of the newly acquired Access Bank - both Aigboje and Herbert were directors at GTB prior to their shock acquisition of Access Bank as mid-30-year-olds, while Aigboje was a short-term Citibank alum - the late Tayo Aderinokun and the sagacious Fola Adeola, both founders of GTB, are fondly mentioned. Additionally, the book praises the incredibly underrated and much maligned Joseph Sanusi, Nigeria’s central bank governor from 1999 to 2004, for playing an important role in the emergence of Nigeria’s second retail banking boom. Throughout the book, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede skillfully interweaves excerpts from Seth Apati’s mid-70s Nigerian finance thriller, The Nigerian Banking Sector Reforms, making the book an interesting read for Nigerian finance nerds. In the book, Aigboje emphasizes their revolutionary approach towards value chain optimization as the key factor towards Access Bank’s meteoric rise in the high-flying 2010s of Nigeria’s modern history - particularly, Access Bank introducing a smart way for Nigerians to purchase airtime through non-visible but effective dealers enabled by Access Bank’s bespoke merchant credit system, thus becoming a vital partner to MTN Nigeria, is an anecdote of note. It is through this approach, Aigboje insists, turned Access Bank into the key bank for Nigeria’s Telecoms and Cement industry - Aliko Dangote is praised for trusting Access Bank early on, post-take over. Nary a wonder why Herbert Wigwe was in that famous ‘gelato’ video with Aliko and his bosom friend, Femi Otedola…a similar occurrence in the flurry of the Dangote Oil refinery inspection videos replete on the internet. A key takeaway from the book is Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede’s honesty and transparency in noting his failures in the journey to building Access Bank into a tier 1 African bank - Access Bank’s expansion failures in Ivory Coast, and the asset bust in Nigeria’s financial sector of 2009 that nearly dented the Bank’s balance sheet are notable anecdotes. Overall, Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa is a refreshingly honest and inspiring story of the doggedness, innovation, and relentlessness needed to succeed in Nigeria’s harsh business environment as an entrepreneur. It is also the best book that I have read about Nigeria in the past 12 months, and I have read aplenty, trust me.
by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, and Karen Dillon
The Prosperity Paradox, written by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillen, highlights the importance of market creating innovation- particularly for emerging economies. Using case studies from different countries, the writers provide evidence which reveals that prosperity for less developed nations is more about creating new markets within these economies than fixing poverty. They describe why in spite of the good will and billions of dollars spent by individuals and organizations to eradicate poverty; this ambition is met with little success. Measures like providing access to free healthcare, schools and clean drinking water can only go so far. But when innovations create markets and affordable products for consumers who will otherwise go without, social and economic transformation follows.
They go on to explain how various innovations adopted by institutions can be categorized into three different classes: Market creating innovation, efficiency innovation and sustaining innovation. Market creating innovation occurs when a product or service becomes accessible to a segment of society that initially couldn’t access them. This creates growth because the alternative for these consumers will be nothing. The second type of innovation called sustaining innovation happens when a company creates better performing products. Although this form of innovation is necessary for businesses because it improves profitability, it does not promote economic growth. For instance, Toyota will not build a new plant and employ more factory workers to produce an upgraded version of their Toyota Corolla. Finally, efficiency innovation improves the operational aspects of a company’s existing business model. This kind of innovation often increases the profitability of the company at the expense of slower economic growth.
The writers show that market-creating innovation is the best way to propel economic prosperity. A classic example given illustrates how the invention of the sewing machine by Singer revolutionized dressmaking in the United States and created growth in markets that were previously non-existent. Prior to Singer’s invention, the average American owned two items of clothing due to the high cost of dressmaking that made owning them expensive. Then came the Singer sewing machine, which was not only less expensive but simpler to operate. While a skilled seamstress could produce only forty stitches a minute, the machine enabled an unskilled person to produce nine hundred stitches a minute. Increased demand for the sewing machine led to booms in the textile, wood and steel industries and the creation of other industries. The authors present case studies that cut across different continents- from Asia to South America- all revealing that for sustainable economic growth, the key lies in market creating innovations.
An erroneous belief is that once infrastructure and institutions are built, the markets will come. However, it’s been proven that as markets become more developed, they begin to pull in the infrastructure and institutions required.Christensen’s refreshing approach to poverty eradication shows that the focus shouldn’t be on combating poverty but on creating prosperity, this is bound to yield a much more permanent and impactful result.
by Dambisa Moyo
Corporations do a lot. They employ millions of people, pay taxes to governments, and provide goods and services, including life-saving goods like COVID-19 vaccines at the height of the pandemic. And they are at the forefront of cutting-edge research in everything from AI to 3D manufacturing, and clean technology.
While the CEO is often the most visible representative of a company, the board of directors plays a critical if less visible role in the smooth running of the company. Dambisa Moyo’s book sheds light on this less-visible function. Boards recruit the CEO, conduct audits, and make difficult decisions on buying new companies or selling the company. And they’re responsible for making decisions on the company’s future.
On the eve of the pandemic (Q4’19), who would have envisioned the havoc that would be wrought on the world, and companies dependent on distant supply chains? How many banks would have predicted the extent of the financial crisis in 2008? In hindsight, the events look clear. However, for boards who have to make forward-looking decisions, it’s often a difficult, if underappreciated, task.
The author outlines best practices for board members as well as CEOs, founders, and investors who work closely with board members. It is certainly a must-read for anyone interested in business or investing.
Finally, I admire the author’s ability to dissect short and long-term trends that affect companies and their boards. These include rapid technological developments, a fluid geopolitical environment, the rise of protectionism in longstanding bastions of democracy, and a changing investment landscape that looks not only at profit but also counts diversity, ESG, and gender equality among others.
by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede
Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede is the perfect book for articulating Nigerian entrepreneurship. There are only a few books by Nigerian entrepreneurs, Nigerian financial markets players, and even Nigerians in the public sector - the most recent release prior to Imoukhuede’s, Africa Rise and Shine: How a Nigerian Entrepreneur from Humble Beginnings Grew a Business to $16 Billion by Jim Ovia, which I also read, was incredibly tepid and vaguely written. So, I am really thankful for the quality replete in this book.
Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa is Aigboje's tale of how he and Herbert Wigwe (Access Bank PLC's current MD/CEO) bought a small bank nearing liquidation in March 2002 and turned it around into one of the 20 biggest and most profitable banks in Africa, as well as the second biggest bank in West Africa by the end of 2022. It starts off by highlighting the paternalism and godfatherism that mired Nigeria's first retail banking boom in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The introductory pages highlight how much of a role both Citibank and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) played in the story of the newly acquired Access Bank - both Aigboje and Herbert were directors at GTB prior to their shock acquisition of Access Bank as mid-30-year-olds, while Aigboje was a short-term Citibank alum - the late Tayo Aderinokun and the sagacious Fola Adeola, both founders of GTB, are fondly mentioned. Additionally, the book praises the incredibly underrated and much maligned Joseph Sanusi, Nigeria’s central bank governor from 1999 to 2004, for playing an important role in the emergence of Nigeria’s second retail banking boom. Throughout the book, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede skillfully interweaves excerpts from Seth Apati’s mid-70s Nigerian finance thriller, The Nigerian Banking Sector Reforms, making the book an interesting read for Nigerian finance nerds. In the book, Aigboje emphasizes their revolutionary approach towards value chain optimization as the key factor towards Access Bank’s meteoric rise in the high-flying 2010s of Nigeria’s modern history - particularly, Access Bank introducing a smart way for Nigerians to purchase airtime through non-visible but effective dealers enabled by Access Bank’s bespoke merchant credit system, thus becoming a vital partner to MTN Nigeria, is an anecdote of note. It is through this approach, Aigboje insists, turned Access Bank into the key bank for Nigeria’s Telecoms and Cement industry - Aliko Dangote is praised for trusting Access Bank early on, post-take over. Nary a wonder why Herbert Wigwe was in that famous ‘gelato’ video with Aliko and his bosom friend, Femi Otedola…a similar occurrence in the flurry of the Dangote Oil refinery inspection videos replete on the internet. A key takeaway from the book is Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede’s honesty and transparency in noting his failures in the journey to building Access Bank into a tier 1 African bank - Access Bank’s expansion failures in Ivory Coast, and the asset bust in Nigeria’s financial sector of 2009 that nearly dented the Bank’s balance sheet are notable anecdotes. Overall, Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa is a refreshingly honest and inspiring story of the doggedness, innovation, and relentlessness needed to succeed in Nigeria’s harsh business environment as an entrepreneur. It is also the best book that I have read about Nigeria in the past 12 months, and I have read aplenty, trust me.
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