Exploring Alternative Solutions

I’m not saying traditional marketing is dead… But I am saying it’s tired. Very tired. The old way: 1. Interrupting people’s lives with unwanted ads 2. Prioritising transactions over trust-building 3. Pushy sales tactics & chasing clicks 4. Spray & pray broadcast advertising 5. Talking AT people, not WITH them The new way: 1) Authenticity & transparency to build trust ↳ People want realness, not perfection. 2) Building a community of brand evangelists ↳ Start bottom up, with subcultures & creators. 3) Providing value, earning the right to THEN sell ↳ Give before you ask. 4) Storytelling with narratives that resonate & engage ↳ People connect with people, not products. 5) Meeting customers where THEY are across channels ↳ Be present and relevant in their world. The old way was about control. The new way is about connection & community. Today’s best marketing isn’t all about selling, it’s about serving 🤝 Agreed?

African financial institutions (think pension funds and the like) hold a whopping $4 trillion. But they invest that money in things like US treasuries instead of African infrastructure. Samaila Zubairu, CEO of Africa Finance Corporation, sees that misalignment as the real crisis. And the foreign aid collapse? He calls it an opportunity. "I'm actually happy it happened," he told me last week. That's a jarring thing to say when hospitals lost funding and health workers lost jobs. He knows it. But his point cuts deeper: in his view, the aid model kept Africa dependent while African capital sat idle, financing someone else's development. Samaila’s focus is forward: redirecting African capital to roads, power grids, and other infrastructure that transforms economies. His prescription for multilateral banks and others? Stop trying to do everything yourselves. "Partner with us instead." That principle came up repeatedly last week at The World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings. At InterAction, Tessie San Martin shared with me the need for a new model of development – African institutions leading complex deals, shared systems that eliminate duplication, competition based on cost per outcome. Perhaps a real conversation is shifting in this sector from "can Africa lead?" to "are multilaterals ready to really partner instead of control?” #development #finance #africa

Having grown up in India, the concept of "Jugaad" has been ingrained in our daily lives — finding innovative solutions to problems and doing more with less. The book "Jugaad Innovation" by the authors challenges the conventional thinking of traditional companies and showcases how embracing Jugaad can lead to groundbreaking solutions. The narrative begins with the inspiring story of Mansukh Prajapati, a Jugaad entrepreneur who crafted a clay fridge capable of preserving food items for up to 3 days without electricity. His frugal design revolutionized accessibility to cooling solutions, especially in rural areas, at an affordable cost of just Rs2500. The book identifies six fundamental principles underlying Jugaad innovation: Seek opportunity in adversity Do more with less Think and act flexibly Keep it simple Include the margin Follow your heart The essence of the resilient mindset that propels Jugaad innovation is aptly summarized by the belief that every challenge harbors an opportunity, and entrepreneurs are adept at transforming obstacles into profitable solutions. The authors don't just spotlight grassroots innovators but also draw examples from Fortune 500 companies like Google, Facebook, 3M, and others that have incorporated Jugaad principles in their operations. Exploring the imagination of these entrepreneurs, the book identifies four key ways Jugaad thinkers operate: They don't plan; they improvise. They act with speed and agility. They think the unthinkable. They experiment with multiple ways to get to a goal. The book underscores the limitations of a structured approach to innovation in today's dynamic and complex business environment. While the Jugaad principles offer clear benefits, they should be selectively applied in situations of rapid change, resource scarcity, industry immaturity, extensive interconnectivity, and diverse customer needs. In conclusion, I found the book immensely insightful, showcasing human ingenuity from around the world, including both developed nations like the United States and emerging markets like India and Brazil. Explore their website Jugaad Innovation for a wealth of resources and examples. Keep reading!

The Circular Strategies Scanner 🌎 This diagram, developed by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and its Nordic partners, provides a great framework for identifying practical strategies to embed circular economy principles across business operations. The Circular Strategies Scanner highlights three core action areas: recirculating parts and products, recirculating materials, and rethinking or reconfiguring business models. These categories cover the full lifecycle of products and materials, from raw material sourcing to end-of-life management. Key strategies for recirculating parts and products include repair, maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, repurposing, and upgrades. These interventions aim to extend existing use cycles and maximize the value extracted from products. Material recirculation focuses on recycling (both chemical and physical), cascading uses across industries, recovery processes such as composting or energy recovery, and integrating secondary or renewable materials. This is critical for reducing dependence on virgin resources and minimizing waste. The model also emphasizes rethinking value creation. Business model strategies such as product-as-a-service, buy-back agreements, and sharing platforms are essential for shifting from linear consumption patterns to circular, access-oriented systems. Impact reduction is addressed through restorative sourcing, lean manufacturing, and efficient use-phase operations. Optimizing logistics, reducing idle capacity, and designing for longevity are also integral components of a robust circular approach. Importantly, the scanner provides a visual link between traditional linear processes and the opportunities to intercept waste and inefficiency at every stage. It underscores the importance of full decoupling of environmental impact from growth through systemic change. Circular economy success depends not only on individual strategies but on their integration across the value chain. This framework offers a strong foundation for companies and industries aiming to transition toward circularity in a structured and impactful way. Source: CIRCit - Circular Economy Integration in the Nordic Industry #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #circulareconomy

Read the #patterns: Drill-Baby-Drill only works if Pushers can Sell-Baby-Sell; pushing policies which force dependency form other countries. Beyond the short-term news cycle of Minerals Deals, there's a longer term grand #strategy risk to understand if any company or country wants to engage seriously. ☀️ #Renewable energy plus #storage is the vaccine from that dependency, hence the obsession by the pushers to talk them down. 🚧 Another key way to block renewable energy independence is to corner the market in critical / rare earth materials. Whether or not they're used, it can block other countries from the resources needed for energy transition, hence protecting dependency. The strategy is the flip side of extractive business models - previously taking from countries by force, now forcibly keeping countries out. ❓ So what to do? 💡 One key pillar of strategy is to #design out dependency. Both by full circularity within (re)manufacture processes, and by material innovations that design out dependencies on rare earth. There's already huge breakthroughs - halide perovskites in solar energy, EV's designing out cobalt and nickel. Matnex (a company I invest in) developed a magnet for batteries without rare earth metals in 3 months using AI. Renewable energy supply chain sustainability/innovation should be a high priority given the geopolitics today. An exercise I have run for many students at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) simulates a decision for #developers / #investors on renewable energy avoiding harmful extractive practices (both social and environmental) compared to cheaper alternatives. It's the pinch-point for #Competitive #Sustainability - often relying on sector-wide collaboration, positive policy engagement and proactive sustainability leadership. These factors are also all 'under attack' right now by those pushing dependency alongside legal challenges that undermine fair competition by reclassifying pollution as clean. The opposite of extractivist logic is not merely 'do no harm', it is about actively creating the conditions for all to prosper in a sustainable regenerative world. Transforming win-lose into live-live. I read recently (h/t to whoever claims this quote) that the business case for a regenerative economy is #Life. Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) NOW Partners Foundation Volans Kees Vendrik Itske Lulof Ian Ellison Dr Victoria Hurth Kirsten Wright John Holm Indy Johar Hans Stegeman Dr Raj T. Gillian Marcelle, PhD Delilah Rothenberg Frank Van Gansbeke Dr. Hubert Danso William Hynes John Fullerton Sue Reid Campanale Nili Gilbert, CFA, CAIA Lengyel David Carlin Climate Safe Lending Network United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Duncan Austin Image by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/%3Ca%20class="link" href="https://lnkd.in/etd2idGF?trk=keyword-landing-page-text" target="_self" rel="nofollow" data-tracking-control-name="keyword-landing-page-text" data-tracking-will-navigate>https://lnkd.in/etd2idGF">Enrique</a> from Pixabay

♻️Circular Economy Is No Longer a Buzzword ...................It’s a Business Imperative 🚨 Why This Matters Now The global economy is still largely linear — take, make, dispose. But cracks are showing. Mounting waste, tightening regulations, and shifting consumer expectations are forcing industries to rethink the lifecycle of products. EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan (2024 update): New rules mandate repairability and recycled content in electronics and packaging. Fashion industry under scrutiny: Brands face growing pressure to move beyond “greenwashing” toward textile recycling and rental models. Electronics take-back programs expanding: Apple, Dell, and Samsung are scaling closed-loop recycling efforts. Bio-based packaging investments rising: Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Unilever are piloting bio-plastics to replace virgin plastic. 🔄 Industries Leading the Shift 1. Packaging Paper-based and compostable alternatives gaining traction. Coca-Cola pledged 100% recycled PET bottles in major markets. 2. Fashion H&M and Inditex are investing in textile-to-textile recycling plants. Patagonia pushes repair, resale, and lifetime guarantees. 3. Electronics Apple’s “Daisy” robot disassembles iPhones for material recovery. Right-to-Repair legislation is accelerating product longevity. 🚀 Waste-to-Value Innovations Bio-based plastics from algae and sugarcane are scaling. Recycled textiles now used in Adidas’ shoes and luxury brands’ fabrics. E-waste mining recovers rare earth metals from discarded devices. ✅ Key Takeaways Circularity = Competitiveness: Companies embedding reuse and recycling outperform in resilience and brand trust. Policy is a catalyst: Regulations worldwide are speeding adoption. Innovation pipeline is strong: From biomaterials to AI-powered recycling, waste is being redefined as a resource. Closing Thought❓ Which industry do you believe will achieve true circularity first ... Packaging, fashion, or electronics? #Corporategovernance #Independentdirectors #ESG #Sustainability

Traditional marketing gets you traditional results. The future of marketing? It's personality-led with creators. The $250B creator economy is disrupting traditional marketing. And influencer marketing is more than an "awareness" play. Creators now impact every stage of the buyer journey. In the past, companies controlled the narrative. But today? People tune into people. Creators are leading now. They are the new publishers. Think about a simplified buyer journey: 1) Awareness Creators introduce products to their engaged audiences 2) Consideration People trust creators for authentic reviews and comparisons 3) Purchase People buy in 1-click from social checkout through creators To win today? Brands need to rethink the buyer journey with creators throughout: → Activate creators to showcase your products at every stage → Leverage creator reviews & testimonials as social proof → Enable frictionless social checkout Think about influencer marketing not just as a "tactic." But as your "always on" strategy to build trust. One-off "top of funnel" creator campaigns are over. The most successful brands are thinking bigger. Partnering with creators at every stage. That's how you build fans for life. Not just one-time buyers.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘁 & 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 (And What We Need Instead) Global investors keep offering African founders two broken choices: - Debt that strangles cashflow with rigid repayments. - Equity that demands 10X growth or dilutes us into irrelevance. Here’s why neither works for Africa—and what actually does. The 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: Mismatched Capital Expectations 1. Debt is a Noose for Startups - Banks want collateral (land, assets) most founders don’t have. - High interest rates (15-25%) eat profits before scaling even starts. - Reality: Only 5% of African SMEs access formal credit (IFC). 2. Equity is a Colonization Playbook - VCs demand "Silicon Valley growth" in markets with infrastructure gaps. - Forced hypergrowth burns cash, kills unit economics. - Data: 60% of African startups fail post-Series A (Briter Bridges). 3. Global Capital ≠ African Realities - Investors want to deploy $5M+ at 20X valuations. - African startups need $10K–$500K to prove traction first. The 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Flexible, Founder-Friendly Alternatives 𝗔. Revenue-Based Financing (RBF) - Get $10K–$500K, repay 5-10% of monthly revenue. - Example: A Kenyan e-commerce biz scaled to $1.5M ARR with RBF (no equity loss). 𝗕. Convertible Grants - Non-dilutive cash that converts to equity only if milestones are hit. - Who’s Doing It: AFDB Labs, ARM Labs Lagos. 𝗖. Community & Customer Funding - Pre-sell subscriptions, leverage crowdfunding - Example: A Nigerian fintech raised $200K from 1,000 users pre-launch. 𝗗. Strategic Corporate Partnerships - Corporates provide cash + distribution for revenue-sharing, not equity. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 - No collateral traps → Aligns with asset-light models. - No equity grabs → Founders keep control. - Smaller checks → $10K–$1M is enough to prove traction locally. We don’t need ‘more capital’—we need better capital. 👉 𝗧𝗮𝗴 a founder who’s stuck in the debt/equity trap. 👉 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 if you’ve seen this mismatch hurt African startups. #AfricanStartups #FundingGap #StartupFinance #DebtTrap #EquityDilution #FounderProblems #RevenueBasedFinancing #AlternativeFunding #SmartCapital

#LateralThinking, a term coined by Edward de Bono in the 1960s, or flexible thinking, refers to a problem-solving approach that involves looking at a situation or problem from unexpected angles, thereby enabling innovative solutions. 1. Encourages #Creativity: Lateral thinking taps into the imaginative aspect of our minds. By breaking free from conventional routines and patterns of thought, individuals can generate unique ideas and solutions that would otherwise remain undiscovered. 2. Enhances #ProblemSolving Skills: Traditional methodologies often rely on linear or logical progression, which can be limiting. Lateral thinking introduces a more dynamic approach, allowing for multiple potential solutions to be considered. 3. Fosters #Innovation: In business and technology, innovation is critical for maintaining competitive advantage. Organizations that promote lateral thinking among their teams are more likely to develop breakthrough products and services, as employees feel empowered to propose unconventional ideas. 4. Improves #Collaboration: By encouraging diverse perspectives and brainstorming sessions, lateral thinking leads to greater collaboration among team members. Different viewpoints can inspire a more inclusive environment that values contributions from all members, leading to richer, more robust solutions. Key Techniques for Cultivating Lateral Thinking 1. Questioning Assumptions: Begin by identifying and challenging the assumptions that underlie your thinking. Techniques such as the “Five Whys” can help dig deeper into the root causes of a problem. 2. Mind Mapping: This technique involves visualizing ideas and solutions around a central concept. By mapping out thoughts in a non-linear way, you can see connections between ideas that may not be apparent in a structured list format. 3. Random Input: Introduce an unrelated stimulus (a word, image, or object) into your thinking process. This random input can trigger novel associations and stimulate new ideas that can lead to unconventional solutions. 4. Role Play: Assume different roles or perspectives related to the problem at hand. For instance, thinking from the viewpoint of the customer, competitor, or even an inanimate object can provide fresh insights and reveal untapped solutions. 5. SCAMPER Technique: The acronym stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. This brainstorming approach encourages you to manipulate and explore existing products or ideas, leading to innovation and new concepts. 6. Creative Constraints: Sometimes, placing specific constraints on your thinking can paradoxically foster creativity. For instance, limit your resources or time, or impose specific rules (e.g., generate only ideas that involve a specific color). In an age where change is the only constant, one thing remains clear: the ability to think laterally is a powerful asset for any problem-solver.

For years, we thought asset-light digital model could solve Africa's problems (leapfrog theory). It turns out they can't because of two main problems: 1. The economy is in deficit of physical assets. Both in the form of infrastructure and means of production. Software companies cannot bear the cost of it, which limits their revenue potential. In Europe, an e-commerce startup only focuses on tech, while other companies solved fulfillment, trucks, warehouses. They make money on the underlying transactions of established economic actors. In Africa it's not the case. 2. The market is often informal & not professionalised enough. To have companies with the budget & vision to adopt software to improve their operations and scale, you need higher degrees of formality. But often, a loose informal network of economic actors based on trust wins over the optimisation machine. So how can you then sell software and make good money? 1. You become mobile-first, free of charge and your goal is mass adoption. Then, you monetize on transactions (i.e. fintech play) or facilitate access to finance & physical capital (still fintech play). 2. You build the software stack, then you start the on-the-ground operations you built it for. In short, you don’t sell software to companies, you become one of the companies (software-enabled) Examples? - An agro-processor building its own traceability solution - A property management company building its own ERP - A distributor building its own logistics software This model has a lot of potential but it comes at a cost. 1. Usually tech people <> operations people. A different set of skills is rewarded to operate on-the-ground (negotiating skills, connections, informality) vs building tech products (lean approach, tech focused, UI, simplicity etc..). Cultivating both within the same company is rare. 2. Building tech from the beginning of a company's life entails additional overhead costs that informal competitors avoid (engineers salaries & time). You risk being slow & burn too much money. When it works, however, it has a significant competitive advantage: access to finance. Investors love to see you have the digital infrastructure to track goods and financial flows within the company. It makes due diligence easier and de-risk the investment. Why is it a competitive advantage? Because access to finance = potential of scale. And the benefits to scale & vertical integration, in a fragmented / informal market, are enormous. I am curious to see the first $1B dollar company in the continent with heavy operations on the ground, and a top notch digital stack. Do you have any name?