For centuries, the Southeastern region of Nigeria has practiced what is known today as stakeholder capitalism — a construct that businesses must elevate the interests of communities, workers, consumers, and the environment alongside those of shareholders. The Igbos, the predominant ethnic group in the region, are known for the Igbo apprenticeship system (IAS), a communal enterprising framework where successful businesses develop others, and over time provide capital and give away their customers to the new businesses. The implication is that few businesses grow to become very dominant, since they keep relinquishing market share, and in doing so, they accomplish one thing: a largely equal community where everyone has opportunities, no matter how small.
A Nigerian Model for Stakeholder Capitalism
The Igbos in Africa have been practicing for centuries what is today known as stakeholder capitalism. The Igbo apprenticeship system (IAS) is a communal enterprising framework where successful businesses develop others, and over time provide capital and pass along their customers to the new businesses. Few businesses grow to become very dominant, and in doing so, they create a largely equal community where everyone has opportunities. The key focus of IAS is to prevent poverty by mass scaling opportunities for everyone.
The IAS has been recognized as the largest business incubator in the world as thousands of ventures are developed and established yearly through it. While many have noted that the Igbo apprenticeship system could be reformed to provide better protection to the young apprentices, others have argued that formalizing the process will distort the natural equilibrium where people derive pride that they helped younger people. Nonetheless, for the Igbos and some Africans, it is a working system which has brought equality and peaceful coexistence in communities.