Publications

July 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Tolaram: Innovating in Africa

By: Derek van Bever and Efosa Ojomo

Tolaram is a Singaporean company that began operations selling textiles in Nigeria in the 1970s. Executives and brothers, Haresh and Sajesh Aswani, however, saw an opportunity to create an instant noodle market in the country. In 1988, they began importing Indomie... View Details

Keywords: Fast Moving Consumer Goods; Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Vertical Integration; Emerging Markets; Consumer Products Industry; Nigeria; Africa

December 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Chief Timothy Adeola Odutola and Nigeria's Manufacturing Sector

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo, Foluke Otudeko and Mark Benson

Chief Timothy Adeola Odutola was an important contributor to Nigeria's manufacturing sector, creating a multimillion-dollar conglomerate including three factories, a retail franchise, a cattle ranch, a 5,000-acre plantation, a sawmill, and an exporting business before... View Details

Keywords: History; Business Conglomerates; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Success; Leadership Style; Business History; Market Entry and Exit; Personal Development and Career; Business Startups; Manufacturing Industry; Nigeria

Video

Nneka Ezeigwe - Making A Difference

March 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Nigeria: Africa's Giant

By: Marlous van Waijenburg

"Nigeria: Africa’s Giant" delves into the economic development and state building record of Africa’s most populous country. Despite being one of the continent’s largest oil-exporters, Nigeria’s economy has been struggling, and poverty is widespread. The country’s... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Developing Countries and Economies; Government Administration; Poverty; Africa; Nigeria

15 Feb 2022
Video

Omobola Johnson

Omobola Johnson, the former Minister of Communication Technology in Nigeria, discusses the ways the Ebola crisis prepared Nigeria to confront the COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare challenges in access, quality, and safety that can be solved using technology. View Details

15 Feb 2022
Video

Johnson - Healthcare & Technology

April 2011
Case

Shell Nigeria: The WikiLeaks Cables

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Rebecca M. Henderson and Matthew Preble

In November 2010, WikiLeaks began releasing the first of hundreds of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables that it had obtained. Among the thousands of cables published by early 2011, were several that shed light on Royal Dutch Shell's operations in Nigeria and its... View Details

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Energy Generation; Operations; Communication Technology; Crime and Corruption; Metals and Minerals; Ethics; Energy Industry; Nigeria

July 1989 (Revised December 1990)
Case

CIBA-GEIGY Pharmaceuticals: Pharma International

By: John A. Quelch

Examines the decision by Pharma International on whether to launch an antimalarial product in Nigeria and, if so, how that should be implemented. Involves commercial, ethical, and policy considerations. Rich in situation assessment data, the case refers to criticism of... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Decision Choices and Conditions; Product Launch; Policy; Developing Countries and Economies; Pharmaceutical Industry; Nigeria

December 2015 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Chicken Republic

By: Jose Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Deji Akinyanju, founder of Nigerian fast-food chain Chicken Republic, and Ayo Oduntan, founder of an integrated Nigerian poultry operation (Amo Byng Group), are among a growing cadre of skilled food-industry entrepreneurs for whom the opportunities to serve the... View Details

July–August 2014
Article

Where to Launch in Africa?

By: Eugene F. Soltes

A case study in the management of new business enterprises in developing countries is examined. A dilemma facing a Malawian entrepreneur in whether to locate a packaging industry new business in his native Malawi or in the larger market of Nigeria is examined.... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Developing Countries and Economies; Geographic Location; Decision Making; Africa

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February 2018
Case

Infrastructure in Nigeria: Unlocking Pension Fund Investments

By: John Macomber and Pippa Tubman Armerding

The so-called “infrastructure finance gap” was a problem in Nigeria as in many parts of the world. Infrastructure projects like power plants and dams were very large capital investments that could generate long-term consistent cash flows, but their financing and... View Details

Keywords: Pension Fund Investing; Infrastucture; Power/Energy; Credit Enhancement; Infrastructure; Project Finance; Investment Funds; Emerging Markets; Nigeria; Africa

01 Apr 2021
Blog Post

An Aerospace Engineer Provides a Lift for Underrepresented Innovators and Entrepreneurs

for ways to make an impact on problems she was passionate about. As the daughter of immigrants (her father emigrated from Nigeria and her mother emigrated from Ghana) she wanted to use her skills to make an impact in the developing world.... View Details

28 Feb 2018 - 1 Mar 2018
Other Presentation

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa—Part 1 & Part 2

By: Euvin Naidoo

Part 1: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa with Euvin Naidoo (February 28)

Part 2: Developing Capital Market:A Conversation with Mr. Bola “Koko” Onadele, Managing Director of FMDQ (March 1)
We cordially invite you to an exciting discussion... View Details

Read Now

Asim Ijaz Khwaja is the Director of the Center for International Development and the Sumitomo-Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development Professor of International Finance and Development at the Harvard Kennedy School, and co-founder of the View Details

September 2005
Article

Decolonising Barclays Bank DCO? Corporate Africanisation Programmes in Nigeria, 1945-1969

The reaction of British business to the decolonisation of the Empire has been the focus of much recent research, but few studies have shed light on the continued presence of commercial activities after independence. Barclays Bank DCO in Nigeria began indigenising its... View Details

Keywords: International Relations; Foreign Direct Investment; Banks and Banking; Macroeconomics; Banking Industry; Great Britain; Nigeria

January–February 2019
Article

Cracking Frontier Markets

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon

Executive Summary:
With emerging-market giants such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China experiencing slowdowns, investors, entrepreneurs, and multinationals are looking elsewhere. They’ve been eyeing frontier economies such as Nigeria and Pakistan with great... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Innovation and Invention; Development Economics