PAU’s professor urges African businesses to leverage institutional gaps

…as Pan Atlantic University holds its 22nd inaugural lecture

In an environment defined by weak institutions and market inefficiencies, Nkemdilim Iheanachor, professor of strategic management at Pan-Atlantic University, argues that African firms can gain an edge by deliberately building strategies that exploit, rather than avoid, institutional gaps.

Iheanachor made the call while delivering Pan-Atlantic University’s (PAU) 22nd inaugural lecture, titled “From Firms to Ecosystems: Rethinking Strategy and Value Creation in Africa’s Digital Economies”, when he gave insights on the future of African businesses in the digital era.

“It is high time for African firms to build strategies around institutional voids and leverage the strategies they have built to compete and survive,” he said.

He further emphasised that ownership alone no longer guarantees success, declaring, “Your real competitive advantage is no longer what you own. It’s who you can connect, coordinate, and enable at scale.”

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Iheanachor explained that what matters most today is the strength and evolution of the ecosystems firms create. He outlined three core strategies that firms in Africa’s digital economy must embrace: the death of the solo firm, ecosystem orchestration, and the paradox of constraint.

“It’s now time for African firms to build strategies around institutional voids and leverage these strategies they have built to compete and survive,” he emphasised.

Enase Okonedo, the vice-chancellor of Pan-Atlantic University, earlier introduced Iheanachor at the 22nd inaugural lecture held at the Honeywell Auditorium, Lagos Business School, with the theme “Shifting from Traditional Firms to Dynamic Ecosystems”.

Okonedo, in her vote of thanks, appreciated Iheanachor for his profound and timely contribution to strategic management discourse in Africa.
Pan-Atlantic University is a leading private institution committed to providing world-class education that develops responsible leaders with a strong emphasis on professionalism, ethics, and enterprise.

With campuses in Lekki and Ibeju-Lekki, the university offers programmes across its constituent schools: Lagos Business School (LBS), Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), School of Media and Communication (SMC), School of Management and Social Sciences (SMSS), School of Science and Technology (SST), Institute of Humanities (IOH), and Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA).