Gender, Áfàméfùnà and the Nwa Boi System

Theoretical insights highlighting cultural and social factors that drive entrepreneurial behaviour among the Igbo people abound. The apprenticeship model, embraced and popularized within Igbo culture, traditionally involves sending young men to live with and learn from more established businessmen, usually in urban cities. The system is laden with challenges, including the risks of urban life and potential exploitation. It is organized around strict hierarchies of age and chronological induction. We see this structure when Odogwu tells Afam that Nonso (his ‘head boy’)’s word is law and more forcefully when Afam is sent on an errand by one of the senior boys, who addresses him as ‘last born’. It is also the reason for Paulo’s fury when Afam is offered his freedom before him. The system provides young men the chance to learn a trade, build economic networks, and eventually attain financial and social independence.