Stage 10 · Synthesis
Eleven findings from a snowball referral network of 900+ actors across the Nigerian food system — from structural bridges to trust signals, fundability gaps, and distributed hubs of influence.
01
From 7 people to 897 edges — the network didn't just expand, it deepened.
7
Seed Advisors
103
Round 1 Network
521
Round 2 Expansion
897
Total Edges
The network didn't just grow — it deepened, with edge density increasing faster than node count
02
Convergence across unconnected sources is the strongest trust signal in the dataset.
58%
Round 1 Referrals
521 nominations
28%
Round 2 Cross-Nominations
248 nominations
14%
Independent Snowball
128 nominations
14% of nominations came from actors with no shared referral pathway — independent convergence is the strongest trust signal in the dataset.
03
96 of 103 Round 1 actors became referrers — embedded enough to generate their own networks outward.
Referral Rate
93% of Round 1 became referrers
96 of 103 Round 1 actors referred at least one new advisor
Top Referrers
A. Okonkwo
Consulting Firm
F. Ibrahim
Academic / Research
C. Adeyemi
Network Partner
M. Bello
Government Agency
04
The 900+ actors span ten distinct role categories — most are not directly fundable.
539+
Total Actors Across 10 Categories
Most actors are not directly fundable — only 1.3% are Network Partners. The ecosystem is broad, but the fundable surface is narrow.
05
Round 1 ecosystem advisors categorized by their recommender-stated role in the food system.
957
ecosystem advisors across 13 role categories
Live from Airtable. Distribution of recommender-stated ecosystem roles among Round 1 ecosystem advisors — revealing the structural composition of the network beyond fundable organizations.
06
The network spans all six Nigerian geopolitical zones — a nationwide footprint.
6
Nigerian geopolitical zones — 892 actors mapped
Nationwide footprint. The network spans all six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, with the heaviest concentration in the South West and North Central — reflecting the density of food systems organizations around Lagos, Abuja, and surrounding agricultural corridors.
07
Six actors bridging independent sub-networks — the highest-leverage funding targets.
Six actors sit at the intersection of otherwise disconnected sub-networks — the highest-leverage funding targets for system-wide impact.
H. Mohammed
R. Eze
K. Yusuf
S. Okafor
D. Aliyu
B. Nwosu
08
Low overlap across System Advisor networks signals distinct sub-networks, not an echo chamber.
11%
Avg. Network Overlap
89%
Unique Nominations
Pairwise Overlap (Sample)
Low overlap signals distinct sub-networks — not an echo chamber. Each advisor reaches people the others don't.
09
A quarter of the ecosystem was nominated by people who have never met them.
25%
Nominated Without Prior Contact
A quarter of the ecosystem was nominated by people who have never met them — reputation travels independently of personal ties.
130
Reputation-Based
391
Personal Contact
This validates the network's credibility — actors are recognized for their work, not just their proximity to the nominator.
10
Network Partners with cross-sector, Nigeria-embedded networks generate more expansive referral chains.
Partner Alpha
42
referral chain length
Partner Beta
38
referral chain length
Partner Gamma
28
referral chain length
Partner Delta
19
referral chain length
Partner Epsilon
15
referral chain length
Partners with cross-sector, Nigeria-embedded networks generate the longest referral chains — depth of local trust drives expansive reach.
11
Multiple active brokers generating similar volumes — no single bottleneck.
No single bottleneck — six active hubs each generate 65-94 edges. The network is structurally flat, not hierarchical.
A flat structure means resilience — removing any single hub doesn't collapse the network.