Unleashing African Ingenuity

5 observations I made while in Africa related to I.P.E.:

1. There are many intelligent people with many ideas for business startups.
2. There is a lack of know-how in terms of actually starting a business.
3. There is a lack of capital and credit availability, making it next to impossible to put a plan into action.
4. The access to Internet is very limited, especially in the villages.
5. In the rural areas, a "business" typically is little more than a glorified lemonade stand.

According to the BBC, the workplace of Africa's future might consist of technology hubs with wifi connection and meeting rooms, where many entrepreneurs can sit side-by-side and develop a business plan or continue their business in a more legitimate setting. Not only does having an "office space" give a business legitimacy, causing investors from around the world to be more likely to divulge their funds, it also gives entrepreneurs a system of support. Some of these tech hubs that have already successfully taken root, such as Hive CoLab, coach business people on how to protect their intellectual property. They also offer entrepreuners a chance to collaborate.

I think these cooperative tech hubs are a great way to encourage innovation and economic growth in Africa. Having a community of support is crucial for an entrepreneur. Another crucial component to starting a business: soliciting and maintaining investors, which is possible through reliable access to the Internet.

In my village in Ghana, Vodaphone, a major African telecommunications company had already built a relatively elaborate compound containing hundreds of computers, wifi, and the only airconditioning for miles. Though it seemed that many of the locals were simply using the wifi for Facebook, chatting, and YouTube, an ambitious Ghanaian may seize the opportunity to connect with investors from around the world. Nevertheless, Vodaphone's purpose for building the compound was not explicitly related to supporting entrepreneurs, and I think that having a tech hub with this explicit purpose would improve the success rate for startup businesses, simply due to the community of support.