MMM is trending here in Nigeria. Every week, I get an average of five invites
across all social media
platforms to join the MMM
‘movement’. In the
unlikely event that you
have not heard of MMM, having just emerged
from a cave to
miraculously run into this
article, MMM is a platform
which in summary claims
to operate a mutual aid programme requesting
participants to provide
money to others and
promising returns of
30% of such monies after
30 days. It is a global platform
touted as a Ponzi scheme (as it obviously is) and
reported to be operated
by Sergei Mavrodi, a
Russian jailed in his
home country in the late
1990’s when his earliest schemes ripped Russians
millions of Dollars and led
to multiple suicides. Sergei Mavrodi Sergei Mavrodi The Nigerian adaptation
is an ingenious creation
displaying an
understanding of the
culture, beliefs and
thought processes of the typical Nigerian. Its
model stands out as a
lesson for all
entrepreneurs looking to
push their products into
new markets. Apart from these lessons
however I have had the
opportunity to discuss
the platform with
colleagues and there
seems to be no debate on the status of the
platform as a Ponzi
Scheme as it does tick all
boxes. See here for hints. Regardless of its status as
a Ponzi scheme however,
I still get people telling
me how it is still a useful
source of quick cash
before it crashes. For the following reasons, this
position as pragmatic as
it sounds does not quite
resonate with me and, I
believe, a lot of
entrepreneurs out there trying to build a product. Promise of big money
consistently with little
work huell-money Entrepreneurs know that
there are of course
things that you can do to make money without having to work all that
hard. But, it’s just not
possible for everyone
who joins a business to
be able to make so much
returns without working. Making money takes
work. Entrepreneurs also
know that NO business
on earth can consistently
provide such returns.
Businesses have ups and downs simple. The Principle of value Real entrepreneurs
understand that real
wealth is generated from
the creation of value and
not from instantaneous
windfalls resulting from concocted trade-offs.
They understand the
paradox of the lottery
winner…money minus
value does not equal
wealth. Understanding Money Real entrepreneurs
understand that money
is really not valuable in
itself. It is valuable
because people agree to
make it a medium of exchange for REAL value.
Its utility lies in its use as
current (hence currency)
for the movement of
value thereby obviating
the need for barter. A system running merely
on the exchange of
money for profit is
nothing but a SCAM.
Participating in such a
system like that only lends credence to the
scam. Not an investment risky-business I have heard people
liken the MMM system to
investing in shares. The
comparison is laughable.
When an investor buys
shares, he is taking real risks to contribute into
an entity that undertakes
in the creation of some
sort of value. Investing in shares takes
careful thought, analysis,
and assessment. He does
not expect consistent
returns. By buying
shares, the investor expresses faith in the
vision of the company
and faith in the
management to execute
the vision. It takes
knowledge to avoid serious burns. So NO,
MMM is not comparable to
investing in shares. The issue of focus Entrepreneurs are busy
trying to create and
perfect systems, solve
problems, devise
innovative answers to
challenges. They are bound to look at a get
rich quick scheme as a
mere distraction in terms
of the time and resources
to be expended into
chasing a venture that provides no ultimate
value addition to
themselves or the
society. The moral question If you are sure that a
system is a scam
propped up by the
resources of naïve but
trusting participants
being manipulated by experienced “confidence
men” with an uncanny
understanding of human
greed and a history of
taking advantage of it,
would you still support it with your money? The understanding of
risk Proponents of the
scheme tout the cliché;
“Nothing ventured,
nothing gained” because
it paints the contrarian
picture of a daring risk taker. Entrepreneurs
however understand the
difference between
gambling and
enlightened risk taking.
A gamble is taken without the
understanding or control
of the variables which
determine the desired
outcome. bungee-jump Investing involves
enlightened risk taking
premised on an
understanding of key
variables and a
reasonable grasp of possible eventualities. If I
commit to give my
money to a scheme over
which I have no control,
because of returns of
which I have no sight, I am not investing, I am
gambling. The times are hard.
Nigerians are seeing the
MMM scheme as some
sort of saviour from the
harsh realities of the
current recession despite the obvious signs that it
is not. To all those who
cannot resist the
temptation of quick easy
cash, please proceed
with extreme caution. To all those who do not
participate in the scheme
as a matter of principle,
know that you are not
alone. https://techpoint.ng/2016/12/02/mmm-entrepreneurs-not-interested/ lalasticlala come see this one on MMM o