When the BBC came calling to discuss the Igbo Apprenticeship System (Igba Boyi), it was a request I couldn’t say no to. This subject is not just a research interest; it is a passion rooted in the resilience of the African spirit.
The BBC audio documentary, “No Brother Left Behind,” explores the Igba Boyi scheme often described as the world’s largest indigenous business incubator. It is a system that helped the Igbo people rebuild generational wealth in the aftermath of the Civil War through a simple but powerful model:
The Master Mentors: An established entrepreneur takes on an apprentice.
The Transfer: Skills, values and professional networks are transferred through years of lived enterprise.
The Settlement: Upon completion, the apprentice is “settled” with start-up capital and the social trust needed to start a business independently.
I had the honor of sharing this platform with Nigerian billionaire Cosmos Maduka, Prof. Nkemdili Nnonyelu and other distinguished voices in a conversation led by the BBC’s Chiagozie Fred Nwonwu.
