Post Image
  A lot of content about investing and growing wealth caters to individual persons. There are some tips for nuclear families, but they aren’t as widely discussed. Unfortunately, you’ll struggle to find advice for communities, especially the neighbourhoods we live in or hail from. There’s a dearth of information about how to grow your community’s wealth, a problem that is even more severe for Nigerian audiences.
Read more about Finance
Perhaps the biggest culprit in this is the dissolution of the commune as a social unit. But this should not deter honest, determined people who want to improve the living standards of their kith and kin. In this article, we’ll be discussing ways to drive truly inclusive growth at the local level.

Why Do We Need to Grow Wealth at the Communal Level?

The single best argument for a collective approach to building wealth is that pooled resources for the greater good can accomplish more than small, individual investments. Although digital savings and investment platforms are democratizing access to wealth-building opportunities, scale is still a huge advantage in this area. Unless your community has one or a few wealthy members who can shoulder the cost of local projects, a single individual may not have the means to construct a produce storage and processing facility, or set up a manufacturing facility that serves much of a Local Government Area. Besides the obvious benefits of size, there’s also the unity and camaraderie that a joint effort for the common good can foster. Finance can indeed cause a rift in relationships. But it can also be a pillar upon which a sense of belonging can be built.

Examples of Community-Driven Wealth-Building Efforts

Here are a few forms that community wealth building can take:
  • Members of a community pooling resources together to set up a new business that serves their locality (and the surrounding districts)
  • Creating a fund that invests in already existing businesses, which may or may not be domiciled within the contributors’ locality
  • Funding startups conceived of by smart and self-driven entrepreneurs within the community
  • Channelling community cooperative funds towards investments in commercial or residential real estate, to grow wealth via an increase in asset value and rent payment
  • Collective investments in relatively safe public and private debt instruments, e.g. government bonds, corporate bonds, treasury bills, commercial papers, and money market funds that are biased towards low-to-medium risk instruments
  • Working with Local Government to develop infrastructure and actively invite businesses to set up locally (consider the many ways the host community can gain from the presence of those businesses)
Sign up for the Connect Nigeria daily newsletter

General Steps towards Building Community Wealth

Here’s a generalised plan of action for building community wealth:

Decide what Your Aims Are

Your vision for a more prosperous community will be the propelling force for your efforts. Think about what you could achieve as a society if you came together to improve the lot of the collective. Imagine what’s possible, document your thoughts, and refine them through research and evaluation.

Get Members of the Community Onboard

With a clear and compelling vision in place, your next move would be to sell the idea and its benefits to other members of your community. Begin with those with whom you have the best relationships. You don’t have to convert everyone on the first try. All you’ll need is a critical core of people dedicated to lifting your community to a better place. Having some influential persons on your side would certainly help.

Come up with a Structure

Your efforts have to be organised. So, discuss and agree on a structure for your operations. Everything from meeting times to decision-making processes and the creation of a fund ought to be ironed out. You may vote for managers and representatives who will oversee community contributions, engage the government, and liaise with businesses. They should be people of integrity who are trusted by your community.

Seek Expert Help

Whether you’re directly investing in commercial projects, acquiring equity, or lobbying manufacturers to set up in your vicinity, you may need the assistance of knowledgeable professionals. They could be lawyers, real estate agents, investment advisors, or business developers. What matters is that they can make your community’s work easier.

Work with the Government where Necessary

You will probably have to seek permission and support from the government for various things. This is especially the case if you’re building real estate, setting up a community-owned business, or persuading organisations to establish a presence in your area. It’s a certainty if you want to create an enabling environment for commercial enterprises to launch in your district or town. Power supply and good roads are things they can help with.

Invest or Get Others to Do So

As we have already explained, there are many ways your community could create the conditions for its material prosperity. Here are some ideas:
  • Establishing a small-scale beverage production facility
  • Funding the setup of a medium-sized bakery
  • Founding a cosmetics manufacturing business
  • Setting up a small-scale textile production plant
  • Building an agricultural produce storage and processing facility
Your community could collectively finance the creation of any of these or other kinds of businesses that would serve a much wider region. Or you could collaborate with the government and external investors. The investors may create businesses in which the community has some equity, and also employ locals. And the government (local and/or state) can incentivise these investors with tax and fee waivers. Note: Investments have to be needs-based. Go for businesses that will supply products and services that are actually in demand in your town, LGA, or state, as they are more likely to succeed.
Register to attend the CN Business Mixer

Sustain and Expand Participation

Community-led wealth building produces better results if it’s continuous. As your efforts yield fruit, ensure that your people stay the course with investing and encouraging even more capital inflows. Those who benefit from schemes of this nature via employment or returns on investment should be asked to reinvest. The accumulation of wins will compound over time. This is how to grow your community’s wealth.
Got a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com
You might also like:
This article was first published on 6th May 2025
Notice: Undefined variable: last_modified in /var/www/html/articles/wp-content/themes/cnhalptem/content-single.php on line 36

ikenna-nwachukwu

Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.

Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *