Programme · 8 weeks · Fully online
Business Model Innovation
Lab
Map it. Test it. Price it. Scale it. An 8-week online programme for founders and executives who want to know a business model works before they spend on it. Map every block of the canvas with its own tool, test the model with real customers, set a price from data and defend your decision at Demo Day.
A Global Analyst Academy programme, delivered in partnership with ScaleBurg.
Programme at a glance
₦350,000
Early bird ₦300,000 until Friday 5 February 2027, or two instalments of ₦187,500
- Starts 6 March 2027
- 8 weeks, fully online, about 7 hours a week
- Weekly live sessions, coaching and an online Demo Day
- Applications close Friday 26 February 2027
- GAA Certificate in Business Model Innovation
Apply in about five minutes, then pay on the GAA Learning Portal to secure your place.
Programme overview
Most business models fail on evidence, not effort
Founders build products nobody pays for. Established businesses watch FX, interest rates and new competitors break models that worked for years. Corporate teams launch products on the strength of a slide deck. In each case the model was never tested against real customers before the money was spent.
Business Model Innovation Lab fixes that. Over 8 weeks you take one real model, map it, test it in the market and price it from evidence, then decide: go, pivot or stop.
Not another canvas workshop
What makes Business Model Innovation Lab different
Most business model courses end with a well-drawn canvas. This one ends with evidence from the market. Every block of the Business Model Canvas gets its own mapping tool, 30 tools in all, so you work each decision properly instead of filling boxes with sticky notes.
The market is the judge. You run at least 10 customer interviews, a willingness-to-pay survey and three experiments, and an outside panel scores your evidence at Demo Day. Everything is built for African conditions: FX swings, informal markets, agent networks and trust gaps run through every tool.
What you will learn
Six capabilities that make a business model work
Map any business model
Read your own model, or a competitor's, as nine choices, each worked with its own tool.
Find what customers need
Run interviews that uncover real jobs, pains and gains without leading the customer.
Design a value proposition that fits
Match what you offer to what customers told you, and decide where to be different.
Test before you spend
Turn beliefs into hypotheses and run cheap experiments that produce real evidence.
Price from evidence
Choose a pricing model and set a price from willingness-to-pay data, not guesswork.
Build economics that hold
Make money on every customer, survive an FX shock and defend a go, pivot or stop decision.
Who it is for
Built for the people who decide the business model
Tech founders
Early-stage founders who need a model, a price and unit economics investors believe.
Traditional business owners
Owners of manufacturing, retail, logistics, food, education or services businesses squeezed by costs, FX or new competitors.
Corporate product leaders
Product, digital and new-business leaders who need a tested business case for a new product or segment.
Executives rethinking the core
GMs, MDs and strategy leads whose existing model is under pressure from AI, regulation or new entrants.
Everyone brings one real business model to work on: a new venture, a business you run, or a product your organisation wants to launch. You will also need to speak to real customers during the programme.
8
weeks, fully online
30
tools, one for every decision
10+
customer interviews you run
3
market experiments you run
Course syllabus
Eight weeks: map, design, test and price, decide
Each week brings a live online session, recorded lessons and readings, fieldwork with customers and a deliverable. The cases follow African businesses such as M-Pesa, Sun King, Moniepoint and Paystack. Open each week to see what it covers.
Week 1: Map the model
Map your business model as it works today with the Business Model Canvas, the Africa Environment Map and the Pattern Cards. In the Business Model Gym, teams map M-Pesa’s agent network, then everyone maps their own model.
Deliverable: your current-state canvas and environment map.
Week 2: Customers and the jobs they hire you for
Learn to interview customers without leading them, build a Customer Profile from what they say, and choose the segment to serve first. Case: Twiga Foods and informal retail.
Deliverable (Gate 1): a Customer Profile built from at least five real interviews.
Week 3: Value proposition and fit
Design a value proposition that fits real jobs, pains and gains, decide where to be different with the Strategy Canvas, and map your riskiest assumptions. Case: LifeBank.
Deliverable (Gate 2): a Value Proposition Canvas and three Test Cards for your first experiments.
Week 4: Reaching and keeping customers
Map how customers find, buy and stay with you, offline and online, and what proof a sceptical customer needs before paying. Your first experiment goes live. Case: Moniepoint.
Deliverable: channel and journey maps, your funnel, and your first Learning Card.
Week 5: Revenue streams and pricing
Choose from 12 pricing models and set a price from evidence, using Van Westendorp and Gabor-Granger surveys with real prospects. Case: Sun King and pay-as-you-go solar.
Deliverable: your pricing model and a live price survey.
Week 6: The engine room
Redesign the back of the canvas: the resources that give a lasting advantage, the activities that are hard to copy, the partners you need, and which work people, AI agents or partners should do. Case: Paystack.
Deliverable: your back-of-canvas tools and a second Learning Card.
Week 7: Economics and evidence
Build unit economics from real data, stress-test them for a naira move and inflation, and face Red Team Hour, where peers attack your model. Cases: Jumia, and a Lagos manufacturer squeezed by FX.
Deliverable (Gate 3): unit economics, the stress test and at least three Learning Cards.
Week 8: Decide and defend
Submit your portfolio and Investment Memo, then defend a go, pivot or stop decision at the online Demo Day before an outside panel of investors and corporate innovation leaders.
Deliverable: your final portfolio, scored by the panel.
Demo Day
Defend your decision
Your certificate is earned through evidence, not attendance. In Week 8 you submit a portfolio and defend a go, pivot or stop decision at the online Demo Day, before an outside panel of investors, corporate innovation leaders and founders.
The panel scores the quality of your evidence, the coherence of your model, your pricing and economics, and your decision. A well-evidenced “stop” scores as highly as a “go”: killing a weak idea cheaply is a success.
What your portfolio includes
- Business Model Canvas, with a tool behind every block
- Value Proposition Canvas from 10 or more customer interviews
- Assumptions Map
- Test Cards and Learning Cards from at least 3 experiments
- A price set from a willingness-to-pay survey
- Unit economics model
- FX and inflation stress test
- Investment Memo with a 90-day plan
The experience
How you will learn
Live online sessions
A weekly live session to work through the tools, the case and your own model, recorded in case you miss one.
Real African cases
Learn from businesses such as M-Pesa, Sun King, Moniepoint and Paystack, mapped tool by tool.
Coaching and Red Team
A practitioner coach guides your fieldwork, and peers stress-test your model in Red Team Hour.
The ScaleBurg workbook
All 30 tools in one online workbook, with Model Coach, an AI assistant that critiques your work. AI drafts; customers decide.
Tools include: Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas, Segment Prioritisation Matrix, Strategy Canvas and ERRC Grid, Trust Ladder, Assumptions Map, Test and Learning Cards, Pricing Model Selector, Willingness-to-Pay Lab, VRIO Test, Make or Automate Grid, Unit Economics Model, FX and Inflation Stress Test and Investment Memo.
How the 8 weeks run
Week by week
Pre-work opens on 1 March 2027 and the programme starts on 6 March 2027. There are two short breaks, for Easter and Workers’ Day, and the programme ends with Demo Day on 8 May 2027. Weekly work is due by 11:59pm WAT each Thursday.
| Week | Focus | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Map the model | 11 March: canvas and environment map |
| Week 2 | Customers and jobs | 18 March: Customer Profile (Gate 1) |
| Week 3 | Value proposition and fit | 1 April: value proposition and Test Cards (Gate 2) |
| Break | Easter | Catch up and run your first experiment |
| Week 4 | Reaching and keeping customers | 8 April: journey, funnel, first Learning Card |
| Week 5 | Revenue streams and pricing | 15 April: pricing model and price survey |
| Week 6 | The engine room | 22 April: back-of-canvas tools |
| Week 7 | Economics and evidence | 29 April: unit economics and evidence (Gate 3) |
| Break | Workers’ Day | Finish your portfolio, due 3 May |
| Week 8 | Decide and defend | Demo Day, 8 May 2027 |
Fees and dates
March 2027 cohort
| Start date | Apply by | Fee | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 March 2027 | Friday 26 February 2027 | ₦350,000 (early bird ₦300,000 until Friday 5 February 2027) | 8 weeks, about 7 hours a week |
Pay in full
₦350,000, paid when you apply.
Early bird
₦300,000 when you pay in full by Friday 5 February 2027.
Two instalments
Two payments of ₦187,500. The second is due by Friday 2 April 2027.
Teams of three or more
10% off the full fee, paid by bank transfer against an invoice.
Admissions
How to join
STEP 1
Apply
STEP 2
Pay
STEP 3
Get access
STEP 4
Start
Pre-work opens on 1 March 2027, and the programme starts on 6 March 2027.
Apply
Apply for the March 2027 cohort
Applications close on Friday 26 February 2027, and early bird pricing ends on Friday 5 February 2027. Bring one real business model to work on.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Who is Business Model Innovation Lab for?
Founders of tech and traditional businesses, and executives creating a new product or rethinking an existing business model. Everyone brings one real model to work on.
Do I need an existing business to join?
No. A new venture works, as long as you can speak to real potential customers during the programme. Corporate participants can work on a product their organisation wants to launch.
How much time will it take?
About 7 hours a week: a live online session, recorded lessons and readings, and 2 to 3 hours of fieldwork with customers.
Is the programme fully online?
Yes. Every live session, the coaching and the Demo Day run online, and sessions are recorded.
What if I miss a live session?
Every session is recorded and posted on the GAA Learning Portal. Your progress is judged by your weekly work and three checkpoints, not attendance.
Is there a break?
Yes. There are two short breaks, for Easter and for Workers’ Day, so the 8 teaching weeks run from 6 March to Demo Day on 8 May 2027.
What do I need to take part?
A laptop, a stable internet connection, and a free Claude account to use Model Coach, the AI assistant in the ScaleBurg Business Model Workbook.
Can I work on a confidential project from my employer?
Yes. You can anonymise names and figures, and your model stays within your cohort, your coach and the Demo Day panel.
How do instalments work?
You pay ₦187,500 when you apply and ₦187,500 by Friday 2 April 2027.
Can my organisation pay, or send a team?
Yes. Teams of three or more get 10% off the full fee and pay by bank transfer against an invoice. Choose the team option on the application form.
What is ScaleBurg's role?
Business Model Innovation Lab is delivered by Global Analyst Academy in partnership with ScaleBurg, a pan-African innovation-scaling venture. ScaleBurg provides the Business Model Workbook and connects Demo Day to investors.
What do I receive at the end?
The GAA Certificate in Business Model Innovation, awarded when an outside panel scores your portfolio and Demo Day defence at 60 or more, with Distinction at 80 or more. You also keep your full portfolio.
How long will I have access to the learning portal?
12 months from the start of the programme.
March 2027 cohort · Starts 6 March
Know your model works before you spend on it
Applications close on Friday 26 February 2027. The programme starts on 6 March 2027.