OKOBI TO THE WORLD
Africapitalism Conference held in Hamburg, Germany, with a focus on OKOBI (One Kindred One Business Initiative) as spearheaded by the Imo State Government through the Office Of The Chief Economic Adviser To The Governor, Prof Kenneth Amaeshi.
Title of Conference: “Africapitalism in Action: Community-Driven Economic Models for Sustainable Development”
Location:Hamburg, Germany
Hosted by: THE NEW INSTITUTE in collaboration with the Imo State Government
Purpose of the Conference: The conference was convened to explore Africapitalism as a sustainable economic model driven by African values, entrepreneurship, and private sector-led development. It emphasized the role of indigenous economic models in addressing poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment in Africa—OKOBI
Key Concept: Africapitalism
Africapitalism, a term coined by Nigerian entrepreneur Tony Elumelu, is an economic philosophy that positions the private sector, especially African entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the continent’s development.
Africapitalism emphasizes long-term investment over short-term profit, promoting inclusive, community-based development where economic growth benefits everyone. It seeks to align profitability with social impact, ensuring that business success contributes meaningfully to society. At its foundation is the belief in African ownership of African problems and solutions, empowering local communities to drive sustainable change from within.
Spotlight: The Imo State Government through the office of the chief Economic Adviser To The Governor introduced OKOBI (One Kindred One Business Initiative) as a practical application of Africapitalism at the grassroots level. OKOBI is built on the traditional Igbo socio-economic unit — the Kindred (Umunna) leveraging communal bonds to launch and scale micro-enterprises.
Technical Structure of OKOBI
Community Mobilization and Mapping: Individuals in kindreds in Imo State come together and organize themselves into cooperative units. Baseline data is collected on resources, skills, and business potential.
Business Development Support: Each kindred cooperative unit is encouraged to identify and manage a single business and soft loans provided for them after a technical and transparent process has been carried out. Technical assistance is provided in business planning, registration, and capacity-building.
Capitalization and Funding Mechanism: Seed funding is provided in form of soft loans by our local financial institutions and diaspora investment partners are also encouraged. Emphasis is placed on equity-based community ownership, not just loans.
Monitoring and Governance: Each business is monitored by the OKOBI team,the community traditional institutions and trained business mentors. A digital registry system tracks performance metrics, revenue, job creation, and community reinvestment.
Diaspora Involvement: OKOBI also serves as a platform for the Imo diaspora to reinvest in their communities through structured and traceable partnerships.
Imo State as a Case Study for Africapitalism
Imo State was presented as a live laboratory of Africapitalism for the following reasons:
Policy Backing: The initiative is enshrined in the state’s economic transformation blueprint.
Grassroots Engagement: OKOBI is designed to scale from villages to LGAs, creating thousands of sustainable businesses.
Social Impact: Initial pilot projects show promising outcomes in job creation, unemployment reduction,rural industrialization, and migration reduction
Outcomes of the Hamburg Conference
Recognition of OKOBI as a Scalable Africapitalist Model
Several development agencies and think tanks endorsed the model for expansion to other African states.
Partnerships Initiated: Technical cooperation agreements were envisaged with German and European SMEs and vocational training institutes to support OKOBI clusters.
Investment Pledges: Diaspora and development partner investment pledges were made to scale OKOBI across Imo’s 305 wards.
Academic Collaboration: Research collaboration were suggested with Foreign universities to study OKOBI as a model for sustainable local development.
Conclusion
The Hamburg Africapitalism Conference marked a significant milestone in the evolution of community-led economic development in Africa. The OKOBI initiative from Imo State was acknowledged as a replicable, bankable and scalable prototype for Africapitalism, proving that true economic transformation in Africa must begin from within, rooted in culture, kinship, and collective entrepreneurship.
Ebere Hilary Uche
Special Adviser To The Executive Governor Of Imo State On Environment