The quality and diversity of panelists and delegates of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit make it possible from Kuala Lumpur to learn a lot about distant innovation and startup ecosystems, as we’ve shown with these insights from Russia, Indonesia, New York. We’ve met also a lot of people from Africa, and have tried to connect as much as possible. As a speaker said during a panel, “we all know of the unavoidability of Africa in the 21st century”, but to build local ecosystems and make them grow regionally and globally, many obstacles will have to be solved.
Across Africa, “60% of the population is under the age of 25“, says Lanre Akinola from the Financial Times blog “This is Africa“, as an introduction to this huge and diverse continent. The cliché of people living on the streets and trying to make a living is gone, he adds, but it has an heritage: in Africa, you cannot divorce business from development, as there are still numbers of crucial issues to solve, from access to electricity or education to a better government.
Most of the African innovators present or speaking during the GES in Kuala Lumpur have a big social driver behind their businesses. In the same time, Africa is also the worst place to do a business, the ecosystem doesn’t exist, government support is erratic when not inexistent. People willing to be entrepreneurs have no access to finance, to mentoring…
As a consequence, changing the world does not necessarily takes the shape of a business. I’ve met with Benjamin Freeman Jr, from Liberia, and his history is a case study of how an African entrepreneur tries to make a change, and has to be more than creative to reach its goals. In a country torn away by 15 years of civil war, Benjamin wanted to address the basic needs of an education, and created LIPACE, for Liberia Institute for the Promotion of Academic Excellence. What was a business at the beginning had to turn into an NGO to gain support from international institutions, and be another kind of pressure for the government. Â
How can Africa setup its innovation ecosystem, then?
Better government is a shared point of views among speakers and delegates. Corruption, lack of vision and poor regulation are making a business project an obstacle course, even if Africans are a people hungry for entrepreneurship as a whole. “Kenya is the most innovative African country in ICT by far, because they have a good regulation and support from the government”, explains Lanre.
Big multinationals too can have an impact. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is famous for its activism in healthcare and education in Africa, but it’s more of a charity. IBM, represented in Kuala Lumpur by its Venture Capital group, has opened in 12th research lab in Nairobi. Across the continent, they also organize SmartCamp, a business plan competition on Internet and Communication Technologies. Google has been instrumental both in Kenya and in North Africa too. Companies can fill the void of poor government, not so much in a business perspective, but as an ecosystem enabler, helping entrepreneurs to have tools, space and connections to transform their ideas into businesses.
Universities too can be an ecosystem enabler. A recent survey on the Stanford alumni network showed how former students help create jobs, revenues and social impact out of California. An example drawn from the complete report  involved the d.school, known for its expertise in design thinking, and how they developed a course called “Designing Liberation Technology” to better use technology for development and democracy in Africa. Many projects abound in this field.
We’ll be visiting and reporting on two innovation and startup ecosystems in Africa before the end of the year, in Ivory Coast during Innov’Africa (Nov. 25-29) then in Nairobi, Kenya, so stay tuned for more feedback on their local innovation ecosystems. Bfore this, check-out Mashable list of 20 hot African startups.
Martin Pasquier for Agence Tesla, Knowtex and Innovation Factory
Check out our report on Malaysia innovation ecosystem on Slideshare too
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