Paperworth Books Limited, in collaboration with Conprel Productions, recently announced the re-release of Professor Nimi Wariboko’s groundbreaking work The Mind of African Strategists: A Kalabari Management Practice. 

The Mind of African Strategists offers a unique perspective on the Kalabari people’s strategic thinking and leadership methods. With this re-release, Paperworth Books Limited and Conprel Productions bring this seminar text to a wider audience, allowing greater access to indigenous African knowledge.

“We are honoured to be part of this important re-release,” says Ibiso Graham-Douglas, Publishing Director at Paperworth Books Limited. “Professor Wariboko’s work is a tribute to the rich intellectual heritage of Africa, and we are excited to bring it to new readers who will benefit from its unique perspectives.”

Elsie Obed, CEO of Conprel Productions, shares this enthusiasm, noting, “Collaborating on this project is a step towards recognizing the vital role of Indigenous knowledge in global conversations on management and strategy. We are thrilled to contribute to the wider recognition of these vital cultural insights.”

For over 400 years, the Kalabari merchants of Nigeria’s Niger Delta were key players in the transatlantic trade. This study examines the business and management strategies of Kalabari Incorporated, a collective representing the entrepreneurial spirit of the Kalabari people of Nigeria’s Niger Delta during the 18th and 19th centuries. It reveals the deep connection between contemporary management principles and the strategies used by Kalabari entrepreneurs, highlighting their success through a purpose-process-people management approach rather than the traditional strategy-structure-system framework. The book also explores the empire’s decline due to strategic errors, including a lack of proper managerial hierarchies and the failure to separate ownership from management, which hindered their ability to compete with European firms in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Professor Nimi Wariboko is the Walter G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics at Boston University. A trained economist, ethicist, and former business strategist and investment banker in Lagos and New York, Wariboko’s extensive work spans various fields, including political and economic history, precolonial business management practices, culture, religion, and philosophy. His scholarship has been instrumental in shedding light on the deep-rooted business and management traditions within African societies.

Purchase a copy of The Mind of African Strategists here!