In the age of the globalization, the most entrepreneurial communities win. It’s not just a
matter of individual success but some communities
that possess certain skills will emerge to dominate
significant sections of the economy. This can be seen in India’s Parsi and Marwari, and Punjabi
communities, the Punjabi of Pakistan, the Chinese in South East Asia, the Lebanese in West Africa, the
Indians in East Africa or the Jews in the United
States. But what about Africans? The domination of
African economies particularly by Indian and
Lebanese communities might lead one to deduce
that there is a virtual dearth of entrepreneurial talent amongst sub Saharan Africa’s 1 billion people. However there are certain communities in Africa that have distinguished themselves through great trading skills which have seen them amass
significant wealth. In the age of globalization where
entrepreneurship and a sense of adventure in
business determines who wins and who loses, they
will be perfectly placed to reap from the global
markets.

1. Igbo of Nigeria:
The Igbos of Nigeria are Africa’s most energetic and
most entrepreneurial people. They are not ancient
traders but emerged much more recently with the
onset of the British colonialism. Through sheer grit,
hard work and a talent for spotting new opportunities, they emerged as the dominant
traders and business leaders as Nigeria raced
towards independence in the mid 50s. The Igbo
dominance of Nigeria’s commerce and industry was
one of the reasons that led to the Biafran war. Today you can find Igbo traders all over the world from South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, China, Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Ireland, Vietnam, India amongst others.
They are mostly merchants although a significant
number have diversified into industry, banking, and
transportation and service businesses. Researchers
have identified the Igbos along with the Ashkenazi
Jews and the Swiss Protestants as the people with
the greatest achievement motivation in the world.

2.Kikuyu of Kenya
Like Nigeria’s Igbos, Kenya’s Kikuyu established businesses with the onset of colonialism. Since Kenya’s pre-colonial economy was entirely in the hand of white settlers, many Kikuyu businesses emerged following Kenya’s independence in 1963. Today, the Kikuyu run businesses straddling virtually all sectors of the Kenyan economy ranging from transportation, retail trade, tourism and hospitality, manufacturing, and much more. Kikuyu business communities can be found in virtually all East African cities such as Kampala, Kigali, Juba,
Kinshasa, Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam and in
countries such as the United States, Britain and
China.

3.The Somali
With their country in shambles for over two decades, one can easily assume that the Somali must be the most impractical people with the worst management skills. But if their success in business is put into consideration, nothing could be further from the truth. The Somalis rank amongst some of Africa’s most entrepreneurial communities. They mainly operate as merchants owning several stalls and are dominant in import-export trade due to their networks in Dubai and Guangzhou. You will find Somalis in businesses such as imports of clothes, shoes, watches, laptops and other manufactured goods mainly from Asia. Export trader mainly involves miraa or khat to Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years, many Somalis have diversified into transportation, hospitality and banking.

4.The Chagga of Tanzania
Numbering just 2 million people, Tanzania’s Chagga
are known for their great entrepreneurial skills and
are the wealthiest ethnic community in Tanzania.
They are also one of the most educated people in
Tanzania. Together with their prowess in harnessing
agriculture, the Chagga are great merchants and are present in almost every corner of the country. They have massive financial power in Tanzania and own businesses ranging from banks, insurance
companies, tourist resorts, airlines (Precision Air)
and are players in many other sectors of the
economy.

5.Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast
From the 15th century to the 19th century the Akan
people dominated gold mining and trading in the
region and, from the 17th century on, they were
among the most powerful groups in west Africa.

Akan Jungle Warfare,
The Third Anglo-Empire of Ashanti War.
The Graphic 1874

This wealth in gold attracted European traders. Initially the Europeans were Portuguese but, eventually the Dutch and British joined in the quest for Akan gold. Groups such as the Benin Empire in modern day Nigeria and states in Central Africa would serve as intermediaries who waged wars on neighboring states in their geographic area to capture people and sell them as slaves to Europeans (Portuguese) who subsequently sold the enslaved people along with guns to Akans states in exchange for Akan gold. Akan gold was also used to purchase slaves from further up north via the Trans- Saharan route. The Akan purchased slaves in order to help clear the dense forests within Akanland. About a third of the population of many Akan states were enslaved people. The Akans went from buyers of slaves to selling slaves as the dynamics in Akanland and the New World changed. Thus, the Akan people played a considerable role in supplying Europeans with slaves for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Ghana later apologized to the descendents of slaves for the role some of its people may have played in the slave trade.

Akan people, especially the Ashanti, fought against European colonists to maintain autonomy including many Anglo-Ashanti wars. the war of the Golden Stool, and other similar battles.

By the early 1900s all of Akanland in Ghana was a colony or protectorate of the British while the lands
in the Ivory Coast was under the French. On 6 March 1957, following the decolonization from the British under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah, the Gold Coasts Akanland was joined to British Togoland, and the Nothern region, Upper East region and Upper West region of the Gold Coast to form Ghana. Ivory Coast gained independence on 7 August 1960.







http://m.modernghana.com/news/455846/1/africas-most-entrepreneurial-ethnic-groups.html

Since igbos comes first, they wouldn't like to move it to fp

una no dey tire?

Miserable mods, it's Igbo and not worthy of FP

No hausa people in this list... the list looks more stupid with inclusion of akan.. hausa people had been long distance traders since ancient times.. that's why kurmi market is the oldest market in africa and southern most point of the transaharan trade.. hausa people had always produce richest people in africa from dantata,dangote,bua,mutallab etc

i dont believe it. hausa's suppose to be there. Their son is the richest black man in the world and his family is the richest black family in the world producing more than five billionaires.

Hausa produce the first black multi millonaire in the person of alhassan dantata.. and also the first black african billionaires and current richest man.. hausa people are great merchants who transverse the sahara for centuries

Mods move this tin to fp now. Ah ah my ibo brothers deserve it. I doff my cap 4 them

Came to check names, not disappointed, na we naa... I wish d Oba fulfilled his promises to throw us inside lagoon, by nw my shops would hv been eight in number.

The great Igbo race!

IGBO KWENU................ BIAFRA WILL BE A GREAT NATION