How "The Village" Changed My Life and Business.
In today's world, no one really wants to go back to the village. We all dream of the city, chasing its vibrancy, opportunities, and promise. Even those living in villages are looking for ways to migrate to the city. The concept of the village seems unappealing—a place to visit occasionally but never to stay. But as a business model strategist and innovator, I found value in the unlikeliest of places: the village.
At a point in my entrepreneurial journey, I was struggling with sustaining our growth. The breakthrough came when I realized that there was a hidden treasure in the very place people sought to leave behind—the village. Through understanding business models deeply and seeing the village with a fresh perspective, I was able to turn its characteristics into a framework that has powered RAD5 Tech Hub. Today, I want to share how we leveraged the RAD5 Village Model to create, deliver, and capture value sustainably.
The Village Psychology
Every African comes from a village, and whether we realize it or not, there is a powerful psychology around the village. One of the core principles of village life is that no child is raised by one person; it’s the collective effort of the entire community. In the village, people support each other, and when someone becomes successful and moves out, they often remember those they left behind. There’s an innate desire to give back, to help others climb the ladder you once climbed.
This concept of collective growth is something I recognized as an opportunity. Even though many young people may not feel that pull to return, those who had a positive experience growing up in the village often want to support others. This is one of the key lessons I’ve integrated into the RAD5 Village Model.
Another striking feature of village life is that when villagers migrate to the city, they strive to push beyond their limits to prove their success. They return home with pride, eager to show they’ve made it. This drive to become better, to return with something valuable, is a crucial aspect of the village mentality that inspired our approach.
Building the RAD5 Village Model
So, how did we integrate these village characteristics into RAD5 Tech Hub to build a sustainable business? When we talk about business models, we're discussing systems and processes that create value, deliver value, and capture value (i.e., generating revenue). I asked myself how I could apply the village psychology to our work at RAD5 and use it to build a more resilient and impactful business. The answer lay in adapting the village's essence to our business model, particularly in our academy arm, where we train tech talent.
Creating Value: Building a Family, Not Just a Business
In the village, everyone matters. You take care of the villagers, and in return, they remain loyal, even after they leave. That’s exactly how we approach our academy. We treat every trainee with respect and provide them with every opportunity to succeed. We’ve built an environment that’s not just focused on learning, but on nurturing a family.
We see ourselves as kingmakers; our trainees are the kings. Our job is to ensure they surpass us. This mindset has shaped how we design our curriculum, treat our people with empathy, and create an atmosphere where they feel valued. As a result, the academy became a place where people don’t just learn—they feel connected. This is the value we create.
Delivering Value: Spreading the Village Spirit
When villagers leave, they don’t just leave with new skills—they return with knowledge, opportunities, and connections to share with those still in the village. This co-creation of value happens naturally in the RAD5 model. As our trainees move on to different jobs or start their own ventures, they remember where they came from. They refer others, offer support, and share resources, just like the villagers who go back to help their community grow.
Today, about 95% of the people who join our academy come through referrals. We’ve spent relatively little on marketing because our graduates serve as our ambassadors. They proudly talk about their experience at RAD5, sharing their success stories and helping us reach more people. This is how we deliver value continuously without heavy reliance on traditional marketing—it’s a ripple effect.
Capturing Value: Reinvesting in the Village
Now, how do we capture value? This is where the financial aspect comes in. The RAD5 Village Model has become a reliable revenue stream. Many of our alumni feel such a strong connection to the hub that they invest back into the system. We’ve had former trainees contribute significant amounts to help more students attend our academy and support them to go through the same process they did. One alumnus invested over 1.2 million naira to support the activities at the hub because they felt deeply connected to the RAD5 village.
This sense of shared value and responsibility is powerful. It goes beyond just making money; it’s about creating a self-sustaining ecosystem where people give back and help the next generation of talent. The model also mirrors an apprenticeship system, where those who leave the village bring others along, ensuring no one is left behind.
The impact of the RAD5 village model has also attracted the interest of international organizations and local partners such as Google, Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta - PIND, European Union in Nigeria, GIZ,German International Cooperation, and Federal Government of Nigeria, among others.
Conclusion: The RAD5 Village Model in Action
The RAD5 Village Model shows how we can use unconventional frameworks to build sustainable business models. By creating a close-knit, supportive environment, we’ve been able to build a family of tech talent that continues to grow and thrive. We’ve turned a place people once wanted to escape from into a place they’re proud to be associated with.
In this process, we’ve learned that business models can be drawn from any aspect of life—real, imagined, or historical. The key is creating value in a unique way, delivering that value effectively, and capturing it sustainably. At RAD5 Tech Hub, the village mentality isn’t just about nostalgia—it’s about innovation, growth, and community.
