IGCSE Business Studies students in Nigeria often lose marks not because they lack knowledge, but because they do not apply it to the case study or evaluate decisions clearly in Papers 1 and 2.

This article introduces “Shark Tank: Lagos Edition”, a role-play where Nigerian students pitch business ideas to a panel of “investors” who ask questions based on IGCSE concepts like marketing, finance, and human resources.

Why Application and Evaluation Are Hard for Nigerian Learners

In many Nigerian classrooms:

• Students memorise definitions and lists (e.g., “advantages of sole trader,” “methods of promotion”).
• They struggle to adapt these points to the specific business scenario given in the exam.
• Evaluative phrases like “it depends on…” or “in the long term…” are rarely practised.

Cambridge examiners, however, are looking for:

• Contextualised answers that mention details from the case study.
• Balanced reasoning that weighs advantages and disadvantages.
• Clear judgements and recommendations.

Setting Up “Shark Tank: Lagos Edition” in a Nigerian School

Ask Nigerian students, individually or in small groups, to design a simple business idea that could realistically operate in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, or another Nigerian city, such as:

• A mobile food delivery service for students.
• A small fashion brand selling Ankara-inspired clothing.
• An after-school tutoring centre or tech training hub.

Students prepare short pitches that cover:

• The product/service and target market.
• Basic cost and revenue ideas.
• Their marketing strategy and key resources needed.

Appoint a panel of “Sharks” (teachers or students) who act as investors.

Using Cambridge Concepts in the Questioning

The Sharks must ask questions that explicitly use IGCSE Business Studies language, such as:

• “How will you segment your Nigerian market?”
• “What are your main fixed and variable costs?”
• “How will you recruit and train staff?”
• “What are the risks of operating only in Lagos, and how might you diversify?”

Students must answer using:

• Relevant business terminology.
• Reference to Nigerian conditions (infrastructure, competition, regulation).
• Simple numerical reasoning where appropriate.

After the pitch, the panel decides whether to “invest” and explains why, giving feedback linked to the syllabus.

Turning Role-Plays into Exam-Style Writing

After each Shark Tank session, ask students to complete written tasks modelled on exam questions:

• “Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of this business choosing to operate as a private limited company.”
• “Discuss whether this business should focus on online marketing or traditional media in the Nigerian context.”

Insist that they:

• Name the business or product from the role-play.
• Refer to specific details (e.g., “students in Lekki,” “delivery challenges in traffic”).
• Use evaluative phrases: “However,” “On the other hand,” “In the long run.”

This builds habits that transfer directly to unseen case studies in the exam.

Building a Nigerian Business Case Study Bank

Over the year, collect:

• Summaries of student business ideas.
• Key details (location, target market, funding needs).
• Questions and evaluation points that arose in Shark Tank sessions.

Use this bank to create mock exam case studies with Nigerian flavour:

• “Study the case of ‘Naija Student Eats’ and answer the following questions…”
• “Using your knowledge of human resource management, recommend how this business should recruit part-time staff in Lagos.”

Question Format Guide

• Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies Paper 1 (Short-Answer and Data Response):

  • Use Shark Tank pitches as the basis for short-answer questions that require definition plus application (e.g., “Define market segmentation and suggest one way this business could segment its market in Nigeria.”).
  • Encourage students to always include specific Nigerian details when answering.

• Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies Paper 2 (Case Study):

  • Develop full case studies from Lagos Edition businesses and set extended questions that require analysis and evaluation (e.g., “Do you think this business should expand to Abuja? Justify your answer.”).
  • Mark responses using adapted Cambridge mark schemes, highlighting applied knowledge, reasoning, and justified conclusions.

• School-Based Business Studies Assessments in Nigerian Cambridge Schools:

  • Include at least one role-play or presentation component per term linked to written follow-up tasks, so Nigerian students practise moving from oral application to formal exam writing.
  • Use feedback to emphasise the difference between generic answers and context-rich, evaluative responses.

How AI Buddy Supports These Strategies

AI Buddy helps Nigerian IGCSE Business Studies teachers extend Shark Tank: Lagos Edition into powerful written case study practice. You can use it to turn student pitch ideas into fully fleshed-out case studies, generate Paper 1 and Paper 2 style questions, and draft banded sample answers that clearly demonstrate the jump from knowledge to applied, evaluative responses.

Once you provide AI Buddy with your current topics (marketing, finance, HR), the types of Nigerian businesses your students design, and common exam weaknesses, it can propose targeted question sets, peer-marking rubrics, and improvement tasks. This keeps case-study thinking at the centre of your course while significantly reducing planning time for high-quality, exam-aligned resources.