In heavily regulated or legally ambiguous industries, a founder's most valuable asset can be political connections. One startup literally used a pitch deck slide showing its co-founder with prominent politicians to signal their ability to influence future legislation in their favor. This represents a stark, real-world "crony capitalism" business strategy.

The CEO of Africa's largest bank states they strategically avoid being on the cutting edge. This "fast follower" approach allows them to adopt proven innovations responsibly while avoiding the high costs and risks of being a pioneer.

While international markets have more volatility and lower trust, their biggest advantage is inefficiency. Many basic services are underdeveloped, creating enormous 'low-hanging fruit' opportunities. Providing a great, reliable service in a market where few things work well can create immense and durable value.

Companies like Optasia leverage mobile phone usage data from telecom partners to provide small loans to millions of unbanked individuals. This model of financial inclusion has created highly valuable "unicorn" companies on the continent.

When trying to influence external partners, start with those most eager to collaborate. This 'coalition of the willing' builds momentum, helps set standards, and creates social pressure for larger, slower-moving players to join the initiative.

Institutions must manage four primary risks: failing to meet liabilities (shortfall), path-of-return volatility (drawdown), access to capital (liquidity), and the reputational risk of underperforming peers, which Matt Bank calls “embarrassment risk.” This last one is often the most delicate and hard to quantify.

Using the historical parallel of ATMs, CEO Sim Shabalala argues that AI won't eliminate human roles but will automate routine tasks. This frees humans for higher-order work involving empathy, complex problem-solving, and valuable client interaction.

Sim Shabalala's firsthand experience with financial exclusion during apartheid directly informed his leadership and the bank's broader purpose of fostering growth for entire communities, moving beyond a narrow focus on just shareholders.

CEO Sim Shabalala argues that a bank's largest risk factor is "country risk." By promoting societal growth and inclusion, the bank creates a more stable operating environment, which directly reduces its cost of capital and debt.