Nigerian billionaire and nightlife mogul, Obi Iyiegbu, popularly known as Obi Cubana, has said the reason many African entrepreneurs struggle to scale their businesses is because of a deep-seated obsession with sole ownership and an unwillingness to collaborate.
Speaking in a viral video on Saturday, the entrepreneur compared the African business mindset with that of the West, saying that foreign investors understand the power of partnerships and shared ownership, while Africans tend to prioritize control over growth.
Cubana explained that most Africans prefer to run businesses single-handedly, often naming them after themselves or their children, instead of building sustainable structures that can outlive their founders.
“Why we Africans don’t go far in business is because we want to own it ourselves. Nobody wants to share,” he said. “You see, white people might have 20 owners who don’t even know each other, yet they come together to make complex projects look very simple.”
He argued that this “I must own it all” mentality is the reason many African businesses collapse after their founders die or retire, as they fail to build systems that can sustain operations across generations.
Cubana further lamented that entrepreneurs often create companies like ‘Obi Cubana and Sons Limited’ without considering whether their children are interested in the business, leading to a lack of continuity once the owner is gone.
The businessman urged African entrepreneurs to embrace collaboration, partnerships, and succession planning, saying these are essential ingredients for building lasting enterprises and competing on the global stage.
