African entrepreneurs should start looking beyond creating tech start-ups, and begin to explore the opportunities that exist outside tech. I feel it's pertinent to draw attention to this trend, especiallyin Nigeria. We have a follow-follow culture, one which can be a strength, as well as a barrier to success.
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The tech revolution, while its a welcome
development, may not exactly be the best model to sustain development in Africa. It can help , if we find the right solutions, and leverage on tech to enhance value, but more imminent, is the need to expand the spaces in which we play as African entrepreneurs. These spaces include manufacturing, textile, mining, power, agriculture, education, environment et al.
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Let's face it, we are not the west. We are many decades behind, and are forever playing catch-up. That has to stop. Africa needs to start developing, at our own pace, indigenous solutions to our unique challenges. Many young African entrepreneurs appear to be in a rush to become next Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs - a good aspiration if you ask me, but parochial.
Parochial because, when it comes to building tech businesses that work, it is about value, about solving a real problem, not creating alternatives that do not necessarily make life better. The logic, that everything is now being done online, hence we must follow suit is flawed. Flawed because It's about structure, and working systems, of which we thoroughly lack in Africa. African entrepreneurs need to focus on creating systems, on building solid structures, upon which we can envisage and create a real tech future. Poor power supply, access to the internet, and cost of data subscriptions, low literacy levels, among others, are some factors militating against Africa's tech revolution. We have a situation, in which tech businesses that add no value are springing up, cluttering the internet and draining resources. Venture capitalists with interests in Africa, are also partly responsible for the tech-rush. You'll hardly
hear them talking about investing in Africa, without laying an emphasis on tech. The question is: Is the sporadic "Techifisation" of Africa, what Africa really needs? Lamido Sanusi's rush, to implement the cashless
policy in Nigeria, while considerably successful, still leaves a lot to be desired.
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Almost every Nigerian, who has a bank account, has had an unpleasant experience with e-banking. Upon investigation, these unpleasant experiences are often not unconnected to a lack of solid and reliable
structures and systems. The gross failure of the card readers, during the past elections, is another indication, of our unpreparedness for the tech revolution, as a nation. There was no adequate preparation, to forestall the malfunctioning of the devices, thus the
embarrassment the nation faced when it's number one citizen could not be accredited for hours.
Instead of rushing to create the next big tech
business, we can focus on building the structures that have a direct impact on our developent, as a continent.
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Young Africa, is creative and vibrant. Let us begin to harness our energy and creativity, to drive our continent's development, in every sector, let us begin to explore, the opportunities around us, while leveraging on the tech revolution, to enhance value. Let us begin expand the spaces in which we play.
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Written by Tchidi Jacobs.
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