Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation

I want to create a market-creating innovation (MCI) project. I believe in the power of innovation to change the world. If selected, I will continue to advance the work that my organization, the Christensen Institute, is doing to change the paradigm from solving poverty to creating prosperity, and to equip emerging market entrepreneurs with the skills to build market-creating innovations. The prize funding will help me accomplish three things.

Raise awareness about the power of market-creating innovation: Market-creating innovations transform complicated and expensive products into products that are simple and affordable so many more people in society can afford them. I will continue to write about their impact, host webinars and AMA sessions to explain why they are critical, and publish papers and articles that help economic development stakeholders more easily prioritize investments in these types of innovations.

Change attitudes towards the role of innovation and entrepreneurs in helping nations create prosperity: I plan to host market-creating innovation bootcamps that help innovation stakeholders demystify the process of market creation.

Drive adoption of market-creating innovation frameworks across the world: The funding will help me build capabilities in innovation-focused organizations in emerging economies so as to integrate sustainability into the MCI project.

One of the biggest problems with poverty alleviation is that we are trying to alleviate poverty instead of create prosperity. Here's my story.

In August, 2000, at 16, I was fortunate to leave Nigeria for college in the United States. I had no intentions of ever returning to Nigeria, one of the world's poorest countries, because it was too poor, corrupt, and underdeveloped. It was a country where opportunities went to die. All that changed in February 2008 when I read about Amaretch, an Ethiopian girl who woke up every day at 3AM and trekked miles to the city market to sell firewood. She was ten.

Amaretch’s story changed my worldview, and soon after reading about her, making a noticeable dent in global poverty became my focus. So, I started Poverty Stops Here (PSH), an organization that worked to stop poverty by investing in poor communities in Nigeria. But after raising over $300,000 and investing in five different communities, I realized our model wasn't working.

I learned that by focusing on fixing the visible signs of poverty, we were only fixing the symptoms. My goal is to change the paradigm on how the world solves global poverty.

Global poverty. In January, 2019, the late Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, and I published The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty. In the book, we explain how, despite well intentioned efforts and hundreds of billions of dollars spent trying to fix global poverty, too many people still struggle to make ends meet. The COVID-19 pandemic is a testament to that. Before the pandemic, more than half the world’s population lived on less than $5.50 a day. Those numbers have since increased. With each person who lives in poverty, access to education, healthcare, housing, food, gainful employment, and other safeties are either nonexistent or subpar. 

The primary reason for this is that much of the funding for global development is focused on fixing symptoms. Our organization is a nonprofit and nonpartisan thinktank designed to fundamentally change the way people tackle complex social problems. Built on the foundation of robust innovation theories, our mission is to shape and elevate the conversation surrounding these issues through rigorous research and public outreach. The Institute is redefining the way policymakers, community leaders, and innovators address the problems of our day by distilling and promoting the transformational power of innovation. 

Our research is guided by two simple questions: What is the causal mechanism behind prosperity? And how can we engender it in poor countries? We have found that market-creating innovation not only lifts people out of poverty, but also catapults them to prosperity, paving the way to a more just and equitable world. As a result, we are working to develop market-creating innovation ecosystems in emerging economies. 

Our work is unique for the following reasons. First, our organization was founded by Clayton Christensen, the architect of disruptive innovation. As a result, at the core of all our research is applying rigorous innovation theories to complex social problems. Second, our research focuses on the entire innovation ecosystem, and how innovation plays a role in creating prosperity. Finally, we are developing initiatives designed to build innovation ecosystems based on the innovation theories that the late Professor Clayton Christensen developed before he passed away.

Our approach to solving poverty is different because we aren’t focused on solving poverty. We are focused instead on creating prosperity by empowering innovators and other economic development stakeholders. Because we are a thinktank, our impact is indirect and happens through the stakeholders that consume our ideas. 

Recently, the Christensen Institute has partnered with the MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship to develop the market-creating innovation bootcamp project. With a focus on Africa, the Bootcamp will not only introduce participating entrepreneurs to Christensen’s most powerful insights on innovation and market creation, but will also offer coaching sessions from seasoned entrepreneurs. Upon completion, participants will have the opportunity to have their ideas shared with investors in the Bootcamp’s network. 

Below are some of the comments we have received based on our work.

“We applied a lot of the concepts in [The Prosperity Paradox]. Your framework and ideas made it simple to choose which opportunities to pursue.” 

- Adetayo Bamiduro, Co-founder and CEO Max.ng

“One of the most impactful books of our generation.” 

-Seni Sulyman, Former VP Global Operations Andela

“The insights are incredible.” 

-Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria