Indigenous African Enterprise

This book examines an indigenous Africa-centric business model practised by the Igbos of south-eastern Nigeria for decades. The unique framework and rules of operation, collectively referred to as the Igbo-Traditional Business School (I-TBS) in this book, is underpinned by the ‘Igba-boi’ apprenticeship.

Indigenous enterprise practices are an essential part of business success in Africa. The continent’s unique and diverse culture, embedded in age-long practices, presents an interesting proposition for advancing indigenous knowledge and building sustainable business structures.

Africa’s unique and diverse culture, embedded in age-long business practices, presents an interesting proposition for advancing indigenous knowledge and building sustainable structures. Casebook of Indigenous Business Practices in Africa is a collection of case studies across Northern, Eastern, Central, Western and Southern Africa.

15th Inaugural Lecture of the Pan-Atlantic University delivered on Sept 1, 2023, by Professor Ogechi Adeola LL.B (Nigeria), B.L. (Nigeria), MBA (Manchester), DBA (Manchester), Professor of Marketing. Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria

Africa is fast becoming an investment destination for firms operating outside the continent, and effective management is central to the realization of organizational goals. This volume evaluates the need for management philosophies and theories that reflect the peculiarities of the African continent.

A tapestry of innovation, ideas, and commerce, Africa and its entrepreneurial hubs are deeply connected to those of the past. Moses E. Ochonu and an international group of contributors explores the lived experiences of African innovators who have created value for themselves and their communities. Profiles of vendors, farmers, craftspeople, healers, spiritual consultants, warriors, musicians, technological innovators, political mobilizers, and laborers featured in this volume show African models of entrepreneurship in action. As a whole, the essays consider the history of entrepreneurship in Africa, illustrating its multiple origins and showing how it differs from the Western capitalist experience. As they establish historical patterns of business creativity, these explorations open new avenues for understanding indigenous enterprise and homegrown commerce and their relationship to social, economic, and political debates in Africa today.

This open access book presents a strong philosophical, theoretical and practical argument for the mainstreaming of indigenous knowledge in curricula development, and in teaching and learning across the African continent. Since the dawn of political independence in Africa, there has been an ongoing search for the kind of education that will create a class of principled and innovative citizens who are sensitive to and committed to the needs of the continent. When indigenous or environment-generated knowledge forms the basis of learning in classrooms, learners are able to immediately connect their education with their lived reality. The result is much introspection, creativity and innovation across fields, sectors and disciplines, leading to societal transformation. Drawing on several theoretical assertions, examples from a wide range of disciplines, and experiences gathered from different continents at different points in history, the book establishes that for education to trigger the necessary transformation in Africa, it should be constructed on a strong foundation of learners’ indigenous knowledge. The book presents a distinct and uncharted pathway for Africa to advance sustainably through home-grown and grassroots based ideas, leading to advances in science and technology, growth of indigenous African business and the transformation of Africans into conscious and active participants in the continent’s progress. Indigenous Knowledge and Education in Africa is of interest to educators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers and individuals engaged in finding sustainable and strategic solutions to regional and global advancement.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- About the author -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- List of abbreviations -- Introduction -- Part I Introduction to the integral journey -- 1 Overview of my research trajectory -- Part II Origination of research: research method -- 2 My subjective inner call: the emotive researcher -- 3 My objective outer challenge: how I expressed my inner desire in confronting concrete challenges in my society -- Part III Context: phenomenology -- 4 Uncovering imbalances in my context: a description of Ewu Community, Paxherbal and St Benedict Monastery -- 5 Unravelling missing depths: my contextual transformational topography -- Part IV Co-creation -- 6 Emancipatory critique: introduction to feminism in an African context -- 7 Towards a true Pax Africana: communitalism as an approach to health, community and enterprise in Ewu, Edo State, Nigeria -- Part V Contribution and transformation -- 8 Participatory action research in an African context: the case of Ewu village, Edo State, Nigeria -- 9 Cooperative inquiry in an African context: the case of Paxherbal and ACIRD -- Part VI Distillation and conclusion of the integral journey -- 10 CARE-ing for Nigeria: towards an integral university in Africa -- Index.