Citigroup Inc. has entered a partnership with Lagos-based social enterprise Babban Gona to increase lending to local smallholder farmers in a bid to boost agricultural output in Africa’s most populous country. Babban Gona will administer a $10 million Citigroup Inc. financing to about 41,000 small farmers in the West African nation, it says in an emailed statement. Even though agriculture contributes a third of Nigeria’s economic output, it attracts less than 5% of bank loans. The facility will enable farmers improve income by 350% per hectare, Babban Gona said. The organization has extended nearly $200 million in loans to over…

We are all familiar with the three monkeys advising against evil—‘See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil.’—but what do the three monkeys of strategy advocate? Unlike the three monkeys who recommend passive avoidance, the three monkeys of strategy urge contributory action: ‘See Unusual. Hear Uncut. Speak Uncommon.’ When you see unusual, you see opportunity—in situations such as: What the customer could accomplish, even if the customer didn’t realise that—as smartphone makers foresaw. What the customer might outsource—as task-runner companies noticed. What the customer wants to use but not own—as ride-sharing companies espied. What the customer doesn’t want to…