By Chioma Gabriel

The enduring success of the Igbo ethnic group in business and entrepreneurship in Southeastern Nigeria has been attributed to deep-rooted cultural heritage and the traditional apprenticeship system, a recent study has revealed.

This revelation follows years of in-depth research conducted by renowned academic and researcher, Dr. Eze Simpson Osuagwu, who presented his findings in a scholarly paper titled “The Igbo Entrepreneurship System: A Model for Stakeholder Capitalism” at the Centre for the Study of African Economies, St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Dr. Osuagwu’s study explores the link between culture and economic development, using the Igbo community as a case study. Drawing on data from 2,000 entrepreneurs across Nigeria—spanning cities such as Aba, Onitsha, Nnewi, Lagos, and Abuja—the research examines the impact of the traditional apprenticeship system on entrepreneurial success.

“The study uses a Propensity Score Matching Technique to evaluate whether the Igbo apprenticeship model influences business growth and sustainability, the role of family in enterprise success, and the broader effects of societal culture on entrepreneurial development,” Osuagwu explained.

The findings, he said, show significant relationships across all research areas: Entrepreneurs trained under the traditional apprenticeship model reported higher weekly revenues. Businesses inherited from family tend to have greater longevity. Entrepreneurs who received financial settlements from mentors had more substantial start-up capital.

“These findings underscore the value of the Igbo traditional apprenticeship system in fostering value-creation for shared prosperity—a key principle of stakeholder capitalism,” Osuagwu said.

He noted that stakeholder capitalism emphasizes community interest, worker and consumer welfare, and ethical enterprise—contrasting it with traditional capitalism which often centers on profit maximization and competitive resource capture.

“Instead of competing for limited resources, the Igbo business model emphasizes mutual cooperation and shared growth, contributing to sustainable entrepreneurial development,” he added.

Dr. Osuagwu’s work builds on centuries of Igbo entrepreneurial legacy, citing historical figures such as Olaudah Equiano, James Beale Horton, Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, and contemporary business moguls like Innocent Chukwuma, among others, as exemplars of this cultural tradition.

Dr. Osuagwu’s impressive academic and professional background underscores the depth of his research. He studied Economics at Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia), earning double doctorate degrees in Economics and Public Policy. With over 30 years of experience in teaching and research across developed and developing nations, he holds over eleven university degrees spanning Statistics, Economics, Business Administration, and Law. He is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

His teaching stints include roles as Lecturer at the University of Lagos and Covenant University, as well as current appointments as Senior Research Fellow at the International Institute for Development Studies in Wilmington, Delaware, and International Visiting Professor at Covenant University.

Dr. Osuagwu has presented papers at global institutions including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C., and Oxford University. He is a certified Sustainable Development expert by the World Bank Group, with numerous publications in leading international journals.

His areas of specialization include: Industrial Organization, Econometrics, Financial and Development Economics, Public Policy and Economic Analysis of Law

Through his groundbreaking work, Dr. Osuagwu has added a compelling empirical dimension to the discourse on entrepreneurship, culture, and sustainable economic development in Africa.