General

We’ve been repeatedly sold a seductive lie for a long time. Perhaps because we are drawn to stories that are clean, simple, and dramatic. Imagine: the lone inventor in a dimly lit workshop. Imagine: the tech founder in a dusty garage who conquers Silicon Valley. Picture this: the artist who wakes from a dream and pours a masterpiece onto the canvas before dawn breaks. These stories are cinematic, and they are inspiring, and they are also, more often than not, plain misleading. Behind every celebrated “genius,” there is an entire web of support, often invisible to the outside world. There are mentors offering guidance, rivals pushing the bar higher, critics sharpening the ideas, funders taking the early risks, and family members quietly managing life’s practicalities. The Wright brothers’ triumph in flight was as much about the machinists in their shop as it was about their vision. Einstein’s breakthroughs in physics were shaped through conversations with friends and fellow thinkers. Even the mystic poet Rumi was deeply influenced by the companionship and insight of Shams of Tabriz. The myth survives because it’s neat. It gives us a singular hero to admire, a figure to model ourselves after. It tells us that brilliance is self-contained, and that we too could ascend to greatness in splendid isolation. But the truth, though more complex, is far richer because it tells a story of interdependence, shared effort, collaboration and the true cradle of innovation. Why the Myth Persists Part of the blame lies with how we tell stories. Media headlines demand simplicity. “Visionary changes the world” is far easier to write than “Team of thirty-seven across three continents incrementally refines a decades-old process!” Complexity doesn’t lead to quick, clickable stories on the internet. Our education systems also bear responsibility. From a young age, we are conditioned to compete as individuals, receiving separate grades, rewarded for solitary achievements, and seldom encouraged to develop the subtle skills of collaboration, negotiation, and shared credit. In business, we reinforce this bias by naming awards after founders, rather than recognising the diverse teams that turn visions into reality. Ego is another factor. The lone-genius myth flatters our ambitions. It’s appealing to imagine ourselves as the architect of our own solitary legend, rather than as a node in a network of contributors. But those who have achieved meaningful, lasting impact know the truth: it is often the overlooked skill of making others better that defines transformative leadership. The MIG View: Ecosystem Over Ego At Maxwell Investments Group (MIG), I witness the power of interconnectedness every day. Our traders are more astute because our data analysts identify subtle patterns. Our field officers make improved decisions because insurance partners highlight risks that may not be obvious on the ground. One company’s success is always linked to another’s contribution. Maxwell Logistics guarantees that harvests reach Tema on time. Confideo Technologies provides the tools to monitor and interpret risk. Prime WellMax leverages its negotiating power to secure the right deals at the optimal moment. These moving parts form a dynamic ecosystem where innovation thrives through ongoing dialogue, not in isolation. This is why our growth strategy focuses as much on people as on projects. We bring in bright young minds eager to challenge the status quo, and pair them with experienced experts who possess the hard-earned wisdom of their careers. It’s the meeting of perspectives that strengthens the system. Innovation is rarely a singular act. The “solo” might be the big reveal of, say, a groundbreaking product or service like this WellMax Insurance Inclusive product. But the “groove” is the invisible fabric of our shared understanding, mutual trust, and the ability to anticipate each other’s moves without instruction. At MIG, I’ve seen this groove at work when teams hand off projects seamlessly, each knowing when to lead and when to support. It’s in these moments that real breakthroughs happen. The Head-Scratcher We Don’t Ask Enough Here’s a question: if your best performer left tomorrow, would your organisation still run smoothly? In sports, no team expects to win a championship relying solely on one striker. Coaches build depth, rotate players, and train substitutes to step in without missing a beat. Yet in business, we often overlook this principle. We are unprepared when the exit of one person causes a project or an entire department to falter. A genuinely innovative system is designed for adaptability, ensuring that no single departure destabilises the whole. I place more on developing “capacity resilience,” the organisation’s ability to absorb shocks and continue progressing. Leadership as Capacity Unlocking Leadership is not about being the most brilliant person in the room. It is about creating conditions where others can shine. Sometimes it means staying quiet so a new voice can be heard. Sometimes it means giving away credit so that someone else can gain the confidence to lead. And sometimes it means admitting “I don’t know” so that the best ideas can emerge from anywhere. I was away for a couple of months last year, and I have previously stated in speeches and articles that the team operated much better than I expected. They surpassed what I had even planned to do if I had been present. Still not sure how to feel about that haha! The freedom to think collectively and make decisions together yielded results far beyond what top-down instructions could have achieved. True leadership multiplies innovation by unlocking the potential of the collective. The Invisible Work That Makes Innovation Possible There is a type of work that doesn’t make headlines but forms the foundation of all visible success. The late-night calls to resolve misunderstandings between partners. The carefully maintained spreadsheets that prevent costly mistakes. The emotional labour involved in building trust across diverse teams. These contributions rarely show up in awards or press releases, but without them, the “genius” moments would never materialise. Recognising, valuing, and rewarding this invisible work is essential if we want innovation to be consistent rather than accidental. Learning to Innovate Across Boundaries Some of the best ideas emerge when disciplines

We often toss around the word “innovation”. It’s linked with shiny gadgets, artificial intelligence, Silicon Valley, and slick startup presentations featuring words like “disruption” and “unicorn”.  Fact: innovation is not about technology alone. Some of the most transformative changes in our societies, especially here in Africa, have little to do with new devices or software. Instead, they are rooted in new ways of thinking, organising, collaborating, and adapting. In this article, I want us to take a step back, challenge assumptions, and broaden our understanding of what innovation truly means. Innovation Is Behavioural Before It’s Technical Before any piece of technology changes lives, a change in mindset must occur. Behaviour must adapt. Systems must bend. Culture must open a door. For example, mobile money in Ghana didn’t succeed solely because of the phones. It succeeded because Ghanaians were already sharing financial responsibilities communally through susu, rotating savings groups, and trust-based lending. The technology simply formalised and scaled what was already culturally ingrained. That’s behavioural innovation: when people change how they do something either before or alongside the introduction of a tool. The Illusion of the “New” Many so-called “tech disruptions” are not new. They are simply digital versions of traditional systems. Take e-commerce. It feels revolutionary. But the idea of buying something you don’t see physically and then receiving it later has existed for decades through catalogue shopping, mail order, and even village provision stores where you place orders for items that arrive within a week. The real innovation wasn’t e-commerce. It was logistical efficiency and data-driven fulfilment. Recognising this helps us stay grounded. Innovation isn’t about invention alone. It’s often about improving access, speed, scale, or trust. Innovation Happens Before, During, and After Tech Arrives Consider farming. Long before agri-tech platforms existed, farmers innovated. Now that we have technology such as drone mapping, blockchain tracking, and AI weather models, we should view it as an addition to traditional knowledge, not a replacement. The most successful innovations merge ancestral wisdom with modern tools. Innovation Can Be Administrative We often overlook this issue. Some of the biggest bottlenecks in African economies are procedural rather than technological. A regional produce market that digitises its permit process is innovating.A government office that reorganises how it handles export documentation, reducing delays from 5 days to 1, is also innovating. Administrative systems affect every sector, yet they get the least attention in conversations about innovation. Why? Because they lack glamour. However, they are highly impactful. Let me give an example from our own ecosystem: when Maxwell Logistics digitised cross-border permit processing between Ghana and Burkina Faso for our commodities shipments, we saved three days of border delays per truck. Three days. Across a hundred trucks, that’s 300 days saved. Time is money, literally, because the cost of deployed capital (interest) is reduced per trip. Time is productivity. So what if public procurement procedures became completely transparent through mobile dashboards? What if licensing departments could verify data instantly? These changes might seem like minor adjustments, but they have the potential to transform entire economies. Innovation Can Be Emotional Here’s a head-scratcher: innovation can be about how people feel. Consider customer experience. Two services can provide the same result, such as bank transfers, but the one that is easier to use, more friendly in tone, and respectful of the user’s intelligence will win every time. How you make people feel is part of your innovation stack. Let’s take insurance. Traditional micro-insurance often suffers from distrust. At WellMax Inclusive Insurance, we had to design not just the product, but the language around it. We avoided confusing jargon. We introduced follow-up calls with real human voices. We use stories, not spreadsheets. When people feel respected, they engage more. When they feel intimidated, they disengage. That emotional journey, from doubt to belief, is as critical as any base code or product launch. Innovation Can Be Invisible Some of the most powerful innovations never get noticed. Because they work so smoothly that nobody questions them. At Confideo Technologies, one of our most impactful tools is a background credit-scoring engine for our stakeholders within the MIG Ecosystem, embedded within our MIG Impact platform. No fanfare. No dashboard. Just quiet intelligence improving outcomes. The quiet systems are often the most essential. The ones that reduce burden without introducing friction. It’s worth asking: is your innovation loud, or is it lasting? Innovation Can Be Who You Involve Who’s in the room matters. Often, we think innovation comes from experts. But communities, frontline workers, and low-income users have insights that no consultant ever will. Designing an agri-marketplace? Talk to the woman in the market who knows how pricing changes by hour. Building a logistics app? Speak to the driver who knows which checkpoints cause trouble on Fridays. Innovation isn’t just what you build. It’s who you build with. In the Africa School of Entrepreneurship (ASOE), we involve students, employers, artisans, farmers, traders, and other schools in curriculum development. They are co-creators, not just beneficiaries. And involving users from design to deployment means fewer errors, faster adoption, and more meaningful outcomes. So What Should We Do Differently? Here are five practical changes we can all adopt: Broaden your understanding of innovation. Don’t restrict your search to devices or apps. Consider processes, people, feelings, and culture. Sometimes, a change in meeting structure can be more impactful than a new software subscription. True innovation often appears as common sense in hindsight. Build on what works. Don’t always aim to replace. Sometimes the best tech supports what people already do well. The goal shouldn’t always be to disrupt. It can and should be to empower. If your grandmother’s wisdom still guides efficient decisions, find a way to honour and improve it with tech, not erase it. Fund boring things. This one’s for policymakers and investors. The glamorous pilot project is tempting. But real change often comes from funding admin upgrades, HR systems, training, and distribution networks. Not exciting, but transformative. The pipes matter more than the faucets. Involve those closest to the problem. Innovation

We often discuss attracting investment into rural areas, focusing on agriculture, infrastructure, and essential services. Usually, the conversation revolves around how to draw in urban or foreign capital. Yet, after years working across agriculture, finance, technology, and community empowerment, I found a compelling alternative while writing my last article: What if the village itself was the investor? It’s a practical challenge to the prevailing narrative. A brain-scratcher. I hope to compel us to rethink capital, community participation, and rural agency fundamentally. The Origin of This Question Through my extensive interactions with farmers, traders, processors, local cooperatives, investors, and policymakers, it has become increasingly evident that rural communities often receive minimal benefit despite their vital role in value creation. The pattern remains consistent: villagers bear the risk, supply the labour, and contribute the land, yet they see little financial reward. Why should value always flow towards urban centres while risk remains rooted in rural communities? Perhaps villages possess more hidden economic strength than traditionally acknowledged. It is essential that we explore this untapped potential, recognising villagers not just as recipients but as architects of their economic futures. Reframing the Conversation The dialogue should move from “Who owns the village economy?”, the subject of my previous article, to “What does the village economy own?” This reframing transforms rural residents from passive recipients of aid to active stakeholders. It redefines charitable support as sustainable investment and shifts marginalisation towards strategic economic importance. Imagine if villagers pooled resources through cooperatives and community trusts, investing directly in local or regional enterprises. What if smallholder farmers jointly invested in solar-powered cold storage, boreholes, or technology platforms? Furthermore, community investment could extend into urban ventures, enabling rural capital to flow towards a wider range of potentially profitable opportunities. The aim is not to romanticise local capital but rather to recognise, harness, and strategically deploy it, enabling rural communities to actively participate in wider economic systems. Practical Implementation Models There are viable models to consider, each with significant potential. Pooled Land-Use Trusts: Villages consolidate land into trusts, negotiating stronger collective leasing terms with agribusinesses or developers. Such arrangements ensure ongoing dividends instead of mere rental fees, creating sustainable income sources and strengthening local bargaining power. Community Investment Funds: By shifting traditional contributions from social events (funerals & weddings) into structured investment vehicles, communities can acquire equity stakes in infrastructure projects, local businesses, or diaspora-focused housing. Financial literacy and organised training would enhance this model’s effectiveness. Micro-Equity Infrastructure Ownership: Villages share ownership of infrastructure (e.g., boreholes, energy grids) through micro-equity models, encouraging communal maintenance and allowing revenue from service provision to be reinvested into community development. Promoting local ownership of renewable energy infrastructure could further boost resilience and sustainability. Digital Crowdfunding Platforms: Digital platforms, similar to successful models in Kenya (M-Changa) and Nigeria (Farmcrowdy), can enable direct community investment in agribusinesses or larger enterprises, supporting local and national value chains. Collaborations with fintech firms could accelerate these initiatives, ensuring transparency and easy participation. Also, I need to get me a crowdfunding licence.  Global Trends Validating Village-Based Investments Far from being utopian, community-driven investments have demonstrated success worldwide. In the U.S., towns often partially own broadband networks, ensuring fair access and generating local revenues. Farmer cooperatives in Asia successfully handle profitable exports, showcasing rural communities’ capacity to participate effectively in global markets. Latin American indigenous communities have created their own banks and investment funds, fostering economic independence and resilience. These examples demonstrate feasibility, with mobile money and fintech tools increasingly making contributions, tracking, and dividend distribution easier. The existing cash flow in the informal sector, combined with youthful entrepreneurial energy returning to rural areas, further strengthens the business case. Learning from these global examples, Ghana could adopt best practices to fit local contexts and needs. The Business and Economic Case Businesspeople might rightly ask, “What’s the benefit if villages become investors?” Consider the following expanded points. Lower Investment Risks: Local stakeholders with financial interests will safeguard, uphold, and improve their investments, greatly decreasing operational risks. Loyal and Engaged Markets: Communities that invest in products or services become committed consumers, enhancing market sustainability and reliability. Lower Capital Costs: Local contributions can cut reliance on costly bank loans, particularly for medium-scale infrastructure, making the model more financially sustainable. Regulatory and Community Goodwill: Projects with local ownership usually face fewer bureaucratic hurdles and community opposition, making approval processes quicker and timelines shorter. Addressing Potential Challenges Naturally, complexities can emerge. Trust and Fund Management: It can be challenging to ensure transparent, accountable oversight mechanisms, with community-led committees or independent oversight bodies managing investments. Legal Frameworks: Modifying existing legislation to support community-owned financial structures may necessitate collaboration among communities, legal experts, and policymakers. Financial Education and Cultural Shifts: There are barriers to promoting community acceptance and training stakeholders in financial literacy and investment strategies, ensuring ongoing participation. These challenges, however, are solvable design issues rather than insurmountable obstacles, achievable through structured planning and stakeholder engagement. Broader Horizons: What Else Village Investment Unlocks Beyond the clear economic case, there are several often-overlooked areas where community-driven investment can quietly but profoundly shape rural futures. These perspectives are worth serious consideration. Environmental and Climate Resilience: By pooling resources into renewable energy, agroforestry, or water conservation, villages can go green while safeguarding their livelihoods. Community-funded solar microgrids or reforestation efforts can generate income, reduce reliance on external energy sources, and buffer against droughts or floods. It’s long-term thinking, rooted in the land. Diaspora and Rural–Urban Linkages: Many rural families already receive support from relatives in cities or abroad. However, those remittances often flow informally and unpredictably. Transparent, village-level investment platforms can turn that flow into structured support, directed towards boreholes, ICT centres, or agro-processing. The emotional bond already exists. What is needed is clarity, credibility, and coordination. Women and Youth Inclusion: Too often, the same hands hold the reins. But when women and young people lead enterprises, whether it’s shea butter cooperatives, digital services, or poultry farms, you get innovation, adaptability, and fresh energy. And practically speaking, these